METROPOLIS: Guiding Light
by cloisthelegendbegins
Summary: The second Part of the Metropolis Trilogy picking up where METROPOLIS: New Beginnings ended. Clark and Lois are dating and still investigating stories at the Daily Planet while adjusting to their new relationship. RELISTED STORY
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: **METROPOLIS: Guiding Light**

**Rating**: PG to PG-13 (_some mild violence, some sensuality, nothing more than you would see in an episode of Smallville_)

**Relationship**: Lois and Clark legend with a Smallville twist!

**Disclaimer****:** I do not own any of the characters from Smallville/Lois & Clark TNAOS/The Superman Movies, Books or DC Comics – _I wish_!!! This story is borne from my enduring love of those Universes and is in no way intended to cause offense in any way, shape or form and is NOT written for any profit or gain - unless you count comments from readers. (_N.B. It should be noted that some of the scenes in this story are from these sources and have been adapted/added to in order to combine the varying Superman Universes into one continuous story with Smallville's Lois and Clark at the center. They may not be in order or complete and parts of the original continuity will have been changed to line them up with Smallville's continuity until the end of Season Seven and the continuity of this story_.)

**Summary****:** Second part of the Metropolis trilogy. If you haven't already it might be worth reading **Metropolis: New Beginnings** so you can see how we got here… This story picks up where that one left off. Clark and Lois are both still at The Daily Planet investigating stories as they come their way, Superman is now head of the Justice League, Lex Luthor has the final 'ingredient' he needs for his army and everyone is under the impression that Vicki Vale aka Chloe Sullivan is in a coma and being cared for in Wayne Manor…

Lois and Clark, having fallen in love, are dating/'trying this' (_depending on who you ask_) so this story follows them in the next stage of their relationship as more dangerous enemies come to battle Superman.

**CHAPTER ONE:**

**_Daily Planet – Afternoon (a few weeks later):_**_  
_

"Hey look, it's Lois!"

Clark glanced up from his screen, confused about why Lois's return to the bullpen was such a source of great excitement to Jimmy. Then he realized Jimmy wasn't looking at the elevators – he was looking at the screen above Clark's head.

Pushing back from his desk, he joined Jimmy as he pointed upwards, "See? Right there – in front of the guy from The Post…"

On the screen was a live feed of a press conference, a PR woman at the front of the plane completing her spiel; "…in the past, the space shuttle needed twelve million pounds of thrust just in it's initial launch phase. By piggy-backing The Explorer on this Boeing 777-"

A hand shot up, practically blocking the screen.

"Yes?"

"Lois Lane, Daily Planet. Piggy-backing – is that official terminology?"

"Yes Miss Lane, it is."

"You stated that this shuttle will usher in a new era of travel, enabling the average person to afford transcontinental flights via outer space – but can you tell us the exact price an '_average person_' will be expected to pay?"

The camera panned to the calm face of the PR woman, "I think you'll find the answer in your press packet, Miss Lane. Feel free to take your time looking for it."

Jimmy nudged Clark and smiled proudly as Clark adjusted his glasses. It wasn't that he didn't feel proud of Lois for doing what she did best but he'd learned several things since he got to his feet. The most recent was that Lois had obviously got on the PR lady's nerves before the press conference started… the second most recent being that it looked like she was on a plane…

If she was, then some of the _other things_ they would be having a talk about when she got back to The Planet, but meanwhile; "Jimmy, what is this?"

"It's the first dual-craft launch of a privately funded orbital shuttle that uses on-board SRB's instead of external fuel tanks." He shook his head as if Clark should have known, "They're going to launch it off the back of a jet."

Jimmy was right. That _was_ information Clark should have known. He breathed deep to quell his impatience, "Sounds dangerous."

"Shush, I can't hear her," Came Cat's voice from behind them, "Turn it up!"

Grabbing the remote, Jimmy tried to increase the volume; accidentally managing to change the channel to a live basketball game. There were groans from around the bullpen, "Sorry, sorry! I've got it."

As he tried to change it back Clark breathed deep again and glanced at Lois' desk. Okay, so their path's had been crossing a lot of late, but in his mind that didn't excuse what she'd done. Just some boring press conference his ass!

From the screen the PR woman's voice returned, "Now when we hit forty-thousand feet, the shuttle will detach, ascend, and then fire the first of two propellant systems; the liquid fuel boosters."

She stepped in front of an on board screen, the second-hand pictures fuzzy on the high-def screen in the Planet; the fake shuttle doing exactly as described on an animated version of the jet; "Then, when the shuttle reaches the stratosphere, the insertion boosters will fire, sending the craft into orbit…"

What was possibly supposed to be a whisper but hadn't quite succeeded came from off-screen, "I'm sorry, did she just say '_insertion boosters_'?"

"Yes Miss Lane, I did."

"Right. Of course." Lois made an attempt at hiding a smile when the camera panned her way; sitting back down and turning her head to look out the window as the jet roared through the clouds with the screen in the Planet briefly showing a shot from outside where two F-35 Fighter Jets were following them.

Then a shot of what was obviously the interior of the shuttle appeared; four astronauts strapped into their seats as a countdown in the bottom of the screen ticked downwards. Booster ignition in one minute…

The screen suddenly crackled. Not for long. Less than four seconds Clark reckoned. Then a voice sounded; "_Mission Control? Come in, over_."

"_Explorer, not quite sure what just happened. The jet experienced the same power loss. Looks like we're going to have to scrub the launch_…"

"_Roger that_."

Clark frowned as the screen came back to life and another astronaut said; "_Sir, boosters are not responding. We are still counting down for ignition_."

"_Can we release the couplings?_"

There were sounds outside the shuttle as Clark began to step away, "Jimmy-"

"_Negative sir_." And the countdown was continuing on the screen.

"-I'm gonna-"

"_Mission control, we have a malfunction, can you do a remote override?_"

"- go see what I can-" Clark unconsciously lifted his hand to his tie.

"_Negative, Explorer. Override not responding_." The picture from the inside of the shuttle was replaced with one from inside the plane just as the shuttle began to shake.

"-find out from mission control," Clark loosened his tie but didn't take it off, dropping his hand to point at the elevators, "I'll call in when I know something."

Jimmy nodded, his face tight with worry as he continued to watch the screen transfixed; "Sure C.K."

Clark doubted very much if anyone in the bullpen would have even noticed him changing in front of them at that point. But he ducked his head and glanced around the room before stepping past the elevator and taking the stairwell; his enhanced hearing continuing to pick up the broadcast as he ripped at his shirt and headed for the roof.

The PR woman's voice sounded, "Now, if you look out the right side you'll be able to see the shuttle climb into the stratosphere. And if you're lucky, you may hear the faint pop of the sonic boom-"

A sound louder than the _faint pop of a sonic boom_ and closer to an explosion made Clark frown hard as he took to the air. The primary boosters must have fired. And if the shuttle was still attached to the jet then the tail would melt under the intense heat. Both crafts would be hurtling through the sky at a speed one of them wasn't designed for and the other wasn't used to having company with, so…

Another voice sounded in Clark's ears; "_Mayday, mayday… boosters have fired and we are not disengaged, I repeat, we are not disengaged_!"

"Interrupt the regularly scheduled program-"

"This just in-"

"- the inaugural flight of the Shuttle Explorer appears to be experiencing extremely serious technical difficulties…"

Clark clenched his jaw and punched through layers of cloud. There were lives in danger. People to save. But that wasn't the reason his heart was pounding harder and his chest was tight. _Lois_. Lois was on that plane.

"…live from Cape Canaveral, where it seems there is a problem with the inaugural flight of the new orbital shuttle Explorer. Reports are coming in but it appears the shuttles boosters have fired before detaching from the jet, veering both craft dramatically off course and out of control…"

Then through the sound of over-lapping transmissions and chattering airwaves he heard her whisper; "_Clark_. Clark I need you!"

She sounded breathless. Like she was fighting for air. Why wasn't she wearing her oxygen mask? They would have fallen from the overhead compartments by now. I'm coming Lois. Hold on. _I'm almost there_.

"_Entering stratosphere in sixteen seconds_…"

"_Explorer, Houston, UHF com check. Do you read?_"

"_Wait! What is that?!"_

The fighter jets were doing their best to keep up with the conjoined craft but they couldn't fly any higher. They weren't designed for it. Then from behind them there was a trail of white that looked like another jet was approaching. It was only as it sped between them and their wings waggled with the sharp displacement of air that they could see who it was…

Almost there. The secondary booster had to be counting down. But how close were they to –

They fired, blowing off the jet's tail, sending both crafts rocketing forwards as Superman was knocked backwards in the air. He tumbled, spun, then re-orientated himself as the shuttle climbed towards outer space – dragging the jet with it. _No_!

Taking a deep breath he rocketed towards the jet; the vast curvature of the earth as visible below as the blackness of space was above. Superman flew faster than he'd ever flown before – driven by the demands of the agonizing pain in his chest. No-one was dying up today. _No-one_.

_Boom_. He broke the sound barrier. _Boom_. And again.

Then he was there. A boot slammed hard on the roof of the jet, then another. His chin lifted. His gaze dropped briefly to the fixed couplings. Then his large hands pressed against the belly of the shuttle.

Fighting wind and gravity, he used all of his strength to push it upwards, the couplings straining until they finally snapped; detaching the two crafts. Lifting higher with all of his might and groaning with determination through gritted teeth, Superman sent the shuttle upwards into the darkness – away from the jet. It was enough of a boost to send it into zero gravity.

"_Explorer. Houston. UFF com. Check. Do you read? Over_."

"_We have… lift off? Everything is…okay. Over._"

But everything wasn't okay. Because once Superman had watched the shuttle orbit, he turned. And saw the jet spiraling downwards. His breath caught. His heart twisted in his aching chest. Then he dived after it.

The jet fell like a bomb, spinning uncontrollably as smoke trailed out behind it and Lois' heartbeat went off the chart. She was scared. Trying not to be if he knew her, but she was as scared as she'd been the very first day he stopped her from falling from a helicopter. She had to know he would be there. He _was_ there. Flying as fast as he could, swooping down behind the jet and grabbing onto the right wing. Then he was fighting gravity again, pulling back against it, straining to stop the spin so he could get control.

He pulled harder but it wasn't working; he couldn't slow it down. It was spinning too fast and too hard. The wing strained, bent, then broke free and sent him tumbling with the debris. Reaching out an arm he caught it, spun, tossed it off into space out of harms way. Then he hovered for a split second, trying to re-orientate himself as the jet continued plummeting, arching downward into a nose dive.

Superman raced after it.

The left wing broke free, tumbling behind the jet on a collision course for him. But he punched through it without stopping, shattering it into pieces and sending up a silent plea that they wouldn't do too much damage as they hit the ground. There just wasn't time to stop them and send them into space. Not enough time. He was running out of time. _And Lois_-

The horizon spun sickeningly as the jet careened towards the ground, Superman racing along the hull, shooting past the windows toward the nose as astonished passengers in oxygen masks gawked at him from inside. For a moment he even thought he heard her say Clark again…

Fifteen hundred feet… twelve hundred feet…

He got beneath the nose, grabbed it, pushed up against it with his cheek flat against the smooth metal as he tried to slow it down and control the descent. Come on. Come on! _COME ON_! _**Slow down**_!

On the ground below there was a pop. A batter hit a fly-ball, shooting it straight up into the air. Spectators squinted as they followed it's path, some raising their hands to shade their eyes – but then they saw something else. Something much larger than a tiny ball. A plane. A large plane falling to earth. With a spec of red and blue at it's nose.

Superman dropped his chin as he continued straining. They were headed for a packed baseball stadium?! _Aw c'mon_! The damn thing had hundreds if not thousands of square miles to fall into and it was attempting to take out all those people as well? Someone, _somewhere_ had to be kidding him! Yeah, sure, 'cos losing the love of his life along with a plane full of passengers wasn't enough, _was it_?!

He pushed even harder against the nose, feeling the strain against his spine and his muscles in a way he normally never did when he had full use of his powers. But he pushed harder, pushed until it really started to hurt. And it was working, they were slowing down. But fast enough? They were already past the stadium lights.

Passengers inside screamed. Superman doubted any of them were Lois Lane. Not his Lois. She wouldn't even have her eyes closed for fear of missing a single piece of information for her goddamn story. When. He. Got her. Off that plane-

He looked over his shoulder. They were directly over the diamond and still falling too fast. So he braced himself, gave the plane one last massive push that almost tore his hands off at the wrist, or certainly felt like it. Metal groaned in protest the same way he did. A wave of kinetic energy rippled through the hull then travelled along the length of the jet until it finally slowed, slower, slower… _s-l-o-w-e-r_… and came to a stop. Only a few feet from the ground.

Superman hovered over home base, holding the jet straight up in the air above his head. Straining again, he lowered it as gently as he could to the ground; grimacing at the thud it made before kicking up clouds of dirt. Then he stepped back and took a deep breath, exhaustion and the weight of what could have been slumping his shoulders as spectators and baseball players stared at him in shocked silence. Suddenly remembering he wasn't alone his gaze flickered around his surroundings as he forced himself to stand tall and walk round to the nearest door.

The metal screeched in protest as he ripped it off it's hinges and tossed it aside, the immediate and somewhat redundant inflation of the yellow rescue slide causing him to sigh as he moved aside to make room for it. Then he stepped inside.

"Is everyone all right?"

There were several dumbfounded nods from inside the chaos of the cabin.

"I suggest you all stay in your seats until medical attention arrives…"

Unerringly his gaze found Lois where she was peeking out from behind a seat. Oh nice try. She looked frazzled but as beautiful as always, and try as he might Superman couldn't seem to stop his feet from carrying him towards her. He should wring her neck, yell at her, at the very least grab hold of her shoulders and shake her. He wanted to _kiss her_. But as reporters stepped to one side she tentatively rose to her feet; long lashes rising to reveal the sparkle of her eyes to him. _Dammit woman_.

Somehow he kept his tone calm; "Are you okay Miss Lane?"

Lois' eyes glowed at him, her gaze locked on his as if he was the only other person on the plane. Her mouth opened as he silently willed her not to say anything that might slip them up in the intensity of the moment. A small squeak came out. Superman almost chuckled. Instead he smiled a small smile and nodded once before glancing around at the curious bystanders;

"Well, I hope this little incident hasn't put any of you off flying…" He glanced at Lois from the corner of his eye and saw the edges of her mouth lifting, "Statistically speaking, it's _still_ the safest way to travel."

She rolled her eyes. So before he really did chuckle, Superman turned and walked back up the aisle, stopping at the open doorway to glance at her one more time before he stepped out into the sunshine and gazed across the crowd. Cameras were trained on him, but he was used to that now; the continued debate on the redesign of the suit had even abated some. He was old news he supposed. They were all used to him being around. And truth be told he liked that they were. He felt… _accepted_…

Oh. Okay. Now that was new. Clark Kent flinched inside while Superman remained impassive on the surface. But c'mon! He was like fifty feet high on that screen. And that was just his head!

The stadium broke into thunderous applause. So Superman smiled, raised his fist above his head, lifted off the ground and disappeared into the sky…

Lois tripped her way into the open doorway seconds later, her gaze automatically rising to watch as he became a speck in the distance. _That's my guy_. Then she looked around at the cheering crowd and felt pride swelling in her chest. Every time she thought he'd done something as amazing as it was within the realms of possibility to be he raised the bar higher, didn't he? She loved that about him. And she'd bet he hadn't even taken a bow. He never did. A nod of his head was as close as he ever got. But then that was the unassuming Kansas farm boy in him. And she loved that too.

Dropping her chin she sighed heavily at the yellow slide. Oh what the hell. She wasn't taking her shoes off though. Apart from the fact they were her favorite shoes, she was gonna need them. She didn't have time to go searching for them afterwards. So with a concession to the stewardess talk by crossing her arms so that her hands rested on her shoulders, she dropped onto her ass and slid to the ground. Then, with an exit sign in sight she ran across the field, only turning when she remembered a picture might be a good idea.

Reaching into her pocket she found her cellphone, sliding it open with her thumb and spinning round to get the plane in frame. Holy crap! She blinked at it, forgetting to breathe for a moment. O-okay. Not much of a plane any more. And she'd been inside that thing while it plummeted to earth at what had felt like a gazillion miles an hour. Into a packed stadium. Still, no wings meant no jet fuel, right? Where was jet fuel kept anyway? She shook it off with a shudder of her shoulders, took the picture and then hit speed dial.

"Perry? Lois. You might wanna hold the front page for me…" She grinned as she started running down the corridor towards the exit, "I'm on my way now."

**_Daily Planet Bullpen – Night:_**

She knew she was in trouble. Mainly because no-one could do a 'you're in trouble' look quite like Clark Kent. Lois shrugged inwardly. Whatever. She'd been silently rehearsing her come-backs to whatever he threw at her ever since she'd gotten back to the bullpen. And if all else failed… there was always her secret weapon…

Kissing might have been deemed out of the territory of a 'get out of jail free' card for _him_, but it worked pretty darn well for _her_. She knew. The game of who-caves-first had been ongoing for weeks. And if the world would ever get round to taking care of itself for a few goddamn hours some evening when they weren't chasing down a story she had every intention of adding other weapons to her arsenal. Hell, she might even do them both a favor and cave first so she could find out what was the most effective…

The thought made her squirm on her seat and bite down on a smile.

Her skin tingled the way it always did when he looked at her, then his deep voice informed her in a low tone, "Don't think I don't know what you're doing right now."

"Finishing up my front page headline."

"That's not all you're doing."

When he pushed his glasses back into place and looked at her from the corner of his eye she couldn't hold back her smile, "Am I multi-tasking again? No wonder I always manage to get more work done than you. I mean if I'm doing it without even knowing I'm doing it… I'm a phenomenon. That's what I am."

"Oh yeah. You're _somethin'_ all right," He shut his computer down and leaned back in his chair, studying her with lazy blinks of thick dark lashes, "And I might have got more work done today if I hadn't been distracted."

Lois grimaced guiltily. Yup. She was in trouble.

"You ready to go?"

"Nope I just have-"

"Mmm-hmm." He jerked his chin at the back of her flat screen monitor, "Hurry up then."

Finding the words in the right order in her brain wasn't made any easier by the fact that five minutes later he started swinging his chair from side to side. It squeaked. She sighed. When she looked at him he lifted his brows in question – the light dancing in the blue of his eyes telling her he knew exactly what he was doing. There were times when he could still be the most annoying man on the entire planet.

"_Done_." And she'd have been done a lot quicker without the squeaking. But she he didn't say that. Lane's knew plenty about strategic withdrawals. Not so much about how often to use them, granted, but there was a first time for everything Lois felt.

"_Good_," The squeaking stopped abruptly, "We'll drop it down to copy editing on our way out. You spell checked, right?"

Funny guy. Lois smiled sweetly, "Of course I did. _Snookie_."

Clark shook his head.

**_Two blocks from Lois Lane's Apartment – Night:_**_  
_

He made her sweat for several blocks. She already knew she was in trouble. And yes, he had calmed down some, but she really had no idea what it did to him every time she got herself in trouble.

Before he could open his mouth to broach the subject, the skies opened. So he reached for her hand, tangled their fingers, and they began to run - out of the park and across the street to a lighted doorway. Stepping into the dry, they both shook themselves off. Then Lois shivered, fat drops of moisture dripping off her darkened hair and running down her cheeks.

"Hold still." Releasing her hand, Clark stepped back, lowered his glasses and a carefully controlled spray of heat vision caressed her body from head to toe; drying her in seconds.

She smiled, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Despite his best efforts not to, he smiled back.

Then they stood side by side in the doorway and watched the rain fall.

"So…" When he glanced sideways at her she was chewing on her lower lip, "How did that boring press conference pan out for you?"

"Not so boring."

"Really?"

The rain stopped as suddenly as it began, so they stepped out of the doorway and started walking again. In the same silence as before.

Then Lois surprised him by sighing heavily, ""Damn it. Alright then. I'm sorry."

Clark faked a staggered step, turning to look at her, "Who are you? I was talking to Lois Lane. You might know her, she was standing here just a second ago..."

"You're hilarious. Lap it up while you can smart ass. We both know it might never happen again."

Well since she'd told him to he did, turning on his heel to walk backwards so he could continue looking at her disgruntled expression, "Since I'm unfamiliar with the words '_I'm sorry_' leaving your lips maybe you could just run through what it is you think you're apologizing for. You know – just so we're on the same page."

"Pushing your luck Smallville."

He lifted his brows.

It made her frown at him, "Fine. So I failed to mention it was on a plane. Teeny omission. Not like I knew I was about to become the first Daily Planet reporter in space, was it?"

"Second. Technically."

She sucked in her cheeks, and let her mouth open with a pop, "Still pushing it... _snookie_."

"Yeah. We're not going with snookie either."

"You nixed poodle, muffin and cupcake - we're running out of originality here. And I already told you I can't use the words babe or stud without laughing uncontrollably. How about pookie?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"No."

"Twinkle-toes?"

"No. And stop changing the subject," He leaned his face closer to hers, their steps slowing as he lowered his voice, "Still trying to scoop me Lane? Cos if I wanted to bring big stories to the table I think we both know I could…"

"Pshhsstt," She scoffed, "We both know you wouldn't dare. Not anymore. We made a deal – you bring me the inside information – I let you do all the research it takes you about half a nano-second to read. And then we write the story together. It's what partners do."

"Partners tell each other the truth, the whole truth and nothing but-"

Lois poked him in the chest, just above his heart, "Listen up boy-scout. We both do what we do best. I cover for you at least a half dozen times a day with enough finesse to throw a bloodhound off the trail – letting you do what you do. And when it comes to what I do, I consider my sliding scale of danger and where I'd rather you were – in this case, inside the plane where you couldn't do anything, or outside the plane where you could do your thing if everything went horribly wrong."

"Which it did…" He captured her hand when she poked him for a second time, flattening her palm over his heart and holding it there as they came to a standstill, "Do you have any idea what it does to me every time you get into trouble like that?"

"Yeah, 'cos I'm in planes attached to psycho Space Shuttles all the time… "

"_Lois_."

Lifting her chin, she looked into his eyes from beneath lowered lashes; the angle of her head defiant even as her voice softened, "I'd guess the same thing it does to me every time you zip off to deal with something you've heard, right?"

Lifting his free hand he cupped her face, his fingers threading into the hair at the nape of her neck as he lowered his head another couple of inches, "Right. So could we both-"

Before he could utter his next syllable, he heard a scream from around the corner. They both turned towards it, then Lois arched a brow at him, "You were saying?"

Clark dropped his hands and took a step back from her, "We're not done with this."

"Well duh. We've still to get to the kissing and making up part. Would you go already?"

Handing her his glasses, he glanced around them, then whirled at super-fast speed and became Superman. Lois blinked in surprise, then pushed her lower lip out, "Okay. That's new."

"I've been practicing," He grinned, "Saves on shirts. Not like you were gonna sew the buttons back on for me, was it… _sweet-cheeks_…"

Lois laughed sarcastically then stopped abruptly, smiled sweetly and crinkled the bridge of her nose, "You really need to go now."

As if to prove her point, a second scream brought them back to the immediacy of the moment.

"Stay here." He was gone in a super-blur.

Lois snorted, "Yeah. Like that's gonna happen…"

**_One Block Away – Night:_**

A leather clad man was on his knees, arms twisted behind his back by two men in dark suits. The leather clad man was the one screaming; unwilling to let go of his knife. So the dark suited men exerted more pressure until the knife dropped.

Then Superman shot into sight, "Let him go."

A timid man stepped out from the shadows, his sweater torn, rounded glasses askew; obviously shaken up in more ways than one, "No, Superman, they saved me. I was walking home and that guy jumped me. These two came out of nowhere. If it wasn't for them, I... I..."

Lois ran around the corner as Superman looked at the men in black and noticed the insignias on their breast pockets: brightly stylized "C's."

The taller of the two smiled, "Hello, Superman. We're Members of the Church Group."

He handed him a card that Clark glanced briefly at as Lois got to his side. Couldn't stay put, could she? Simultaneously, the shorter of the two men cuffed the thug and flipped open a cell-phone, muttering into it.

Superman studied the card again, "Church Group... as in Bill Church?"

Lois took the card out of his hand, "As in the latest branch of Intergang…"

The tall man smiled at her the same way he had at Superman, "Mr. Church wants Metropolis to be a better place to live and he's committed his fortune to that end."

As Superman and Lois looked around them more men and women dressed in dark clothes appeared at every corner, near and far. Then a black sedan with the stylized "C" on the side appeared.

The tall man spoke into a wrist mic a-la-the-CIA; "Situation green, continue patrols."

The men and women at the corners touched their ears, nodded and moved off in pairs. It was creepy. Lois obviously agreed from the look she gave them.

Then she turned her attention to the tall man, "I get it, you're some kind of vigilante group, Church's private storm troopers. Well, I hate to tell you - but that's against the law –"

"Miss, if you'd like to check with the police, you'll find we're operating under their purview." He looked at his partner, "Let's get this man into custody." Then he reached an arm towards the timid man who'd been attacked, "Sir, come with us, the police will need your statement." And finally to Superman, "Superman, thanks for trying to help."

The condescension wasn't lost on him, a brief look passing between them while Superman managed a small nod. Oooooh-kay. Not nearly as done with this as the Church group might like to think. He'd been fooled by 'help from the blue' in Metropolis once already. And once bitten…

With no-nonsense efficiency, the men in black slid into the sedan with the thug and the timid Man.

Lois took a deep breath, "Well, you've got to give Church and his son credit – they obviously love Metropolis…"

He waited for the punchline.

And it came with a smirk, "They never stop trying to take over…"

"I should probably take a look around the city, make sure everything's all right. Just in case."

"I know. Go. I think I can get home in one piece without yelling for my friendly local vigilante." She looked up into his eyes as the sedan pulled away from the kerb, "I'll make a few calls to our contacts in the Metropolis PD and see what I can find out while you're doing your thing. That's if it's okay with you, _obviously_. I mean…"

She took an exaggerated intake of breath as he folded his arms across his chest, "Phone calls can be dangerous things. Especially when they're made on a cell-phone. I could be frying thousands of brain cells. Not that I don't have plenty to spare but-"

"You done?"

"I can keep going for much longer."

"Oh I know."

Thrusting her lower lip out even further than before she set a palm on the 'S' on his chest, forcing him to glance around for spectators, "I'll be fine pumpkin."

Certain they weren't being observed he leaned his head closer, lowering his voice to one octave above a whisper, "Remind me why I love you?"

The palm on his chest patted lightly before she stepped back, "Cos I'm me – _hello_? I'll call you later if you don't, you know, _drop by_…"

With a quirk of her brows and an angling of her head she spun on her heel and sashayed away from him, "Bye pumpkin."

If she thought pumpkin was staying, she was wrong. But Clark smiled as he took to the sky. Now if the world was at peace for a few hours, maybe he could get back in time to engage in some kissing and making up and –

He willed his mind to think calmer thoughts. Bad idea straying into that territory in a form fitting suit. Bad. Idea. So he thought about what had happened earlier and the brief moment of power loss on the shuttle, the jet and at Mission Control. What had caused it? There had to be something. And if the past few months had taught him anything it was never to take things at face value. He looked down at the city…

When 'face value' involved a similar dress uniform to Luthor's clone army it didn't sit well with him. The man had been too silent since he'd tried to take Chloe. And Chloe remained lying in a bed, still and silent. Something he knew was always in Lois' mind the same way it was his.

The city seemed peaceful, so he arched his back and headed upwards to begin a wider, more all-encompassing patrol.

_Subterranean Lair beneath Metropolis – Night:_

The elevator doors opened and Bill Church Jr. appeared, carrying an overnight bag, "Dad?"

Bill Sr. met him halfway across the room, surprising the younger man by embracing him in a tight hug that was returned somewhat stiffly, "Son. It's so good to see you. How was Tokyo?"

"The little territory spat with the Yakuza's all settled, stores are going up, the Japanese Foreign Minister took the bribe. How're you feeling?"

"The doctors say I'm doing great. A new heart, a new man, that's my motto these days..." He held him at arms length for a moment, "Ah, Billy, I've got so much to tell you, I don't even know where to start…"

His son eyed him warily, "Uh-huh."

They moved into his father's office, the office that had apparently been torn apart in his absence, "Redecorating?"

"That's part of what I have to tell you."

"Darlin?"

The older man's expression changed, "Mindy? In here beautiful."

Billy sighed deeply as he turned around and watched the stunning redhead making her way across the room. She was gorgeous. And dressed to show off every curve. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Billy, meet your new stepmom."

And there it was.

"Hello, Billy." She kissed him on the cheek, then draped herself around his father, "Your Dad's told me so much about you."

"Well, that certainly gives you the advantage... _Mindy_."

His father smiled like the old fool he was, "Son, I know what you're thinking - the old man's gone soft from that heart attack, married his pretty nurse and now he's a few grapes shy of a bunch." He paused to kiss her upturned cheek, "But I'll tell you, I've never seen things clearer... or known with more absolute fervor my true destiny."

Billy set his bag down and stepped towards the one cabinet that hadn't been removed from the room, "I'm guessing I'll need a drink."

He tugged the dust cover to one side and reached for a glass and a decanter; pouring a generous measure of ten year old scotch.

While his father continued behind him, "Billy, we're criminals. Greedy, opportunistic vermin preying on the innocent."

His son nodded as he swallowed down a large mouthful of the liquid; welcoming the burn on the back of his throat, "And...?"

"I can't do it anymore."

"You want to retire?" About goddamn time. He'd waited long enough for the Edge family to screw up and step aside as it was. It was time for a new regime as far as he was concerned. A more efficient, less lenient one.

"I want to dismantle Intergang. Ever since the operation, I've had visions. I've tried to ignore them, but I can't. It's all been a waste. The money, the power. It's meaningless. We're gonna pull the plug on this whole stinking operation and use our resources to make the world a better place."

Billy stared at him, his voice flat; "You're serious."

"Totally."

He drained his glass in one long mouthful before setting it aside, "Considering the jet lag and the airplane food, I think I'm taking this pretty well... don't you, Mindy?"

Mindy blinked blankly, "Huh?"

"Exactly."

While they stared at each other Bill Sr. moved to a wall map of Metropolis, "I've already started step one."

It showed dozens of green Church Group Stations every few blocks, "I've earmarked five hundred million dollars for the Church Group...four thousand men and women patrolling Metropolis, with the singular goal of making this the safest city on Earth. And if it works here, we'll do it in other cities; we'll give every cent we have to make amends for the horror we've caused."

"Boy." Billy stared at Mindy again, "You shell out some pretty good drugs in that hospital, huh, Min?"

She was still completely vacant, "What?"

Bimbo. Billy dismissed her. She would be easy to get rid of. Shame really. She was certainly easy on the eyes. And it had been a long trip. Under different circumstances…

"Well I'm gonna head home and turn in. You can tell me all about your great scheme in the morning Dad," He retrieved his bag and turned away, "Can't wait."

**_Daily Planet – Morning:_**

Lois sat at her desk, typing, trying to concentrate, but her eyes kept drifting over to Clark's empty desk. She tried not to let it unsettle her. He was fine. She'd have heard something on the wire if he wasn't. It was a little volcano; inconsequential really when compared to say Mount Saint Helens or… she frowned as she tried to remember the name of the only other one she knew… oh yeah, Vesuvius, that was it. Superman could deal with a baby volcano. One big rock shoved in the hole _et voila_!

It was using a cell-phone he still had difficulties with…

Perry and Jimmy hovered in the near-distance, looking at Lois, then looking at Clark's empty desk, then looking at Lois looking at Clark's empty desk.

"Chief, I know we said we weren't gonna talk about..." He jerked his head sideways, "... certain people so obsessively any more but..."

Perry glared at him.

"You're right Chief. We have lives of our own, we're interesting, we don't need their daily dramas."

"Exactly."

Jimmy nodded, "So."

"So."

There was a moment of silence as they looked back at Lois, who was tapping her pencil off her desk in a way that indicated trouble. Then Jimmy took a breath, "How's the golf game?"

"On Saturday, came this close," He held up his thumb and forefinger to peek through a small gap, "to sinkin' a hole in one."

"That's great Chief."

Perry dropped his arm and looked back at Lois, "How's your love life?"

"Pretty much the same as your golf was Saturday."

"Uh-huh." He took a sip of his coffee as he continued watching Lois, "She look like she's been crying to you?"

"Lois Lane?" Jimmy laughed, "I don't think she knows how… erm… no, no I don't Chief."

"Okay." Perry nodded brusquely, "Let's go dig up some news then."

Lois froze as the skin on the back of her neck tingled. She turned, looked up and saw Clark walking towards her. Then she mentally sat on the brief flash of brightness she felt and lifted her chin, "Hey."

Clark smiled as brightly as she'd felt, "Hey."

She stood up. He stopped by their desks. Then there was a moment where time seemed to stand still, as if neither of them was quite sure if they should kiss or shake hands.

Jimmy and Perry stared mesmerized as Lois pursed her lips, nodded, and reached for her coffee mug before turning away.

"Yeah." Jimmy nodded, "News."

"They're doing this on purpose, aren't they? To torture us."

Clark lifted his mug and followed her to the coffee pot the way she knew he would, standing close enough that his upper arm rested against her shoulder and she could feel the heat of his body. She took a breath, "So, I called last night... a couple times…"

"Yeah, well, I was, uhhh..." He made an upward motion with his hand, "... you know."

"I heard on the news." She nodded, reaching for his mug and brushing her fingertips against his as he set it free, "Landslide in Malaysia. Building collapse in Norway."

He added sweet n low to her full mug as she poured coffee into his, "And a volcano this morning."

"Yup, heard about that one too."

Apparently her tone was enough to tell him something was wrong, "Lois, what's-"

She handed him his mug and lifted her own before turning round, "So, I've been doing some research on the Church group. There's a lot of them" When they got to her desk she handed him a file, "Here."

Clark took it, "Thanks."

But he didn't look at it. He was still looking at her. And he was doing it intensely enough for her to feel the need to curl her toes in her shoes. Damn it. How was she supposed to stay annoyed at him when he'd been out saving lives! It was so unfair.

"They're completely legit on paper, funded entirely by Church... You should take a look at the board he assembled - former Governor, Vice-President, a three star General..."

"Nice polite exterior." He kept on staring at her, the blue of his eyes darkening several shades.

Lois swallowed hard and sat down in her chair before she got cramp in her toes, "I say we find out what's under the surface."

"Okay." He towered over her long after she'd rolled her chair into place and buried her nose in her mug. But he did it long enough to force her to glance up at him over the rim.

How could she still be annoyed at him, feel guilty at the same time and have her palms itch to reach up for the lapels of his jacket to haul him down for the kind of kiss that would make it onto the cover of a romance novel?! Huh? How the hell did that work?

His gaze dropped to the increasingly labored rise and fall of her breasts beneath her fitted cherry red blouse. It lingered there long enough for her to feel the need to moan. And then it rose sharply and crashed into hers and she let out a low growl from deep in her throat, "_Smallville_-"

His chin jerked upwards, his gaze fixed at some invisible point in the distance. And Lois sighed heavily before raising her voice, "Do you think you could chase it up in archives for me?"

Jerking her brows meaningfully was rewarded with a smile, "On it. I'll be back as fast as I can."

"Hmmm…" She blindly reached for her pencil and began tapping it on the desk as he left. Again.

Some day soon she hoped she might get used to it. Probably not though. She'd told Superman she was selfish. But really, was an hour here and there too much to ask for? If she didn't know better she might think he was busier now she knew his big secret than he'd been before. Like hiding it or striking a balance by occasionally being-bloody-around was less important now she knew. He didn't even have to cover his tracks anymore. She automatically did it for him.

And now she was a possessive girlfriend? Lois rolled her eyes. Great. She glanced around the room and caught sight of Jimmy staring at her. So she frowned, "_What_?"

"Nothing." He scurried away.

Fantastic. Now she was kicking puppies too. She officially sucked as a Superheroes girlfriend.

**_Bill Church Senior's Office – Morning:_**

Mindy was there alone, dabbing at her eyes with a huge handkerchief and sniffling when Billy walked in. He froze. Caught in the age old male response to a crying female of 'get the hell out of there'.

"Mindy? What is it?" Because if there was a possibility it was something he could _use_…

"Oh, Billy, um, nothing..." She smiled and waved the handkerchief at him, "nothing..."

Mentally crossing his fingers for a negative answer he asked; "Is Dad okay?"

She looked at him with wide eyes, then, to his horror, burst into full blown tears. Maybe he'd got lucky?

"What is it?" He stepped closer to her.

"I know we don't really know each other... and there's no reason why you should trust me..."

To his amazement she stepped closer and pressed her incredible body close to his. In a very _non-motherly_ way.

Billy cleared his throat, "Well..."

"I think your father's very sick." She mumbled into his shoulder.

"Sick how?"

"He's going crazy Billy..." She came out of hiding and looked into his eyes, "He keeps talking about his new mission and the way he's spending money…"

He smoothed a hand across her back and patted in a way he hoped made him seem sensitive, "Yeah, I've seen the reports."

"He just bought half-a-museum in London because he wants to be surrounded by beauty... If this keeps up, there won't be anything left..." She sighed breathily and lowered her voice to a husky whisper filled with innuendo, "... _for us_."

Their gazes met.

Then Billy answered somewhat cautiously, "The thought had occurred to me."

"I'm just his wife," Mindy pouted, "I don't understand all this business you two talk about... but I really think it'd be best for everybody if maybe he..."

"Yes?"

"... retired?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed tighter to his side; smiling uncertainly, "Then you could…"

"Run things the way they should be?" Billy eyed her with hooded eyes, a window of unexpected possibilities opening before him like manna from heaven, "He's not going to step down Min."

"Oh, I know." She blinked at him with wide, heavily made up eyes, "I'll do anything you say, Billy."

"_Anything_?"

She leaned in and answered with a long, hard kiss.

"Wait –" He pushed her back, not willing to play the hand he'd been gifted too soon, "- you're married to my father."

Then he realized the added bonus to that and grinned, "This is perfect!"

Kissing her hungrily, he allowed her to tear at his clothes…

**_Daily Planet Offices – Mid-Morning:_**

Lois was on her sixth cup of Java. Life was a lot better. Though not quite as fast as she wanted it to be. She glanced up at the screen above Clark's empty chair as a reporter talked direct to camera. Lois could do that job she reckoned. How hard could it be?

"... of course, it's getting to be a well-known fact that our streets are now dramatically safer from crime but the Church Group doesn't stop there."

Lois swung back and forth in her chair, chewing on one end of her coffee stirrer while her foot tapped rapidly under the desk and there were shots of members of the Church group checking the tires on a cab. Seriously? Who _were_ these people?!

"They've taken it upon themselves to offer free auto assistance, safety checks of homes, businesses and all manner of public transportation."

When they showed a shot of a Church member helping an old lady across the street Lois rolled her eyes dramatically. Were they kidding her?

"Management of busy intersections, teaching kids about community service, cabs for the infirm and elderly..." A shot of a Church member studying fruit at an outdoor market and shaking his head, "... even going so far as to guarantee food freshness in restaurants and grocery stores. Polls indicate that citizens have never felt safer or more secure. The board of tourism is showing a dramatic increase in vacationers and housing sales have jumped twenty percent."

They were like goddamn Stepford people. Where had they all come from? And so fast? It was like they'd all been waiting in the wings to stage a coup. It was like being… _invaded_…

Lois frowned. Then checked her wristwatch and frowned harder. Where the hell was Clark? She reached for her coffee mug and found it empty. How had that happened? She was sure she'd had coffee. Maybe the nice Church people had popped by and initiated a ban on caffeine for the good of the citizens health. Well over her dead body. Nope. _Over theirs_!

Hugging her mug to her she pushed her chair back, the reporter's voice continuing over her head; "And what is Costmart CEO Bill Church saying about all this? Well, the one and only statement he's issued reads, '_I want the actions of the Church Group to speak for themselves_'."

Lois scowled with suspicion as she walked away from the TV, picking up the late edition of The Planet from the day before off her desk as she headed for the coffee station. The stories had taken up two pages inside, only bumped from the front page thanks to a certain falling airplane; "WINDOW WASHER SAVED BY CHURCH MEMBER... Then: CHURCH MEMBER STOPS MUGGING... And: CHURCH MEMBER FINDS LOST CAT."

She wanted to stick her fingers in her mouth and fake a gag.

Jimmy and Perry met her at the coffee pot, Perry waiting next in line as he spoke, "Please tell me you're on a hot story full of mayhem and scandal."

"No such luck."

Perry raised his voice and shouted over his shoulder, "Denny, tomorrow's lead's gonna be: GIRL SCOUT JAMBOREE BIG SUCCESS." He took the pot from Lois, "This keeps up, we're looking at a one page city section."

Jimmy waited patiently for the pot even though it looked unlikely he would get more than dregs by the time it got to him, "Well, hold on, Chief, how come news always has to be bad? How come we couldn't report all the good things that happen?"

Lois and Perry stared at him as if he'd grown horns, Perry the first to speak, "This is a newspaper - it's catastrophe or atrophy."

Shaking her head in astonishment at Jimmy as Perry handed over the almost empty pot, Lois blinked hard and turned towards her desk, "I know the Churches are up to something, Chief, but I just can't get a fix on this. I put in a call to one of my contacts but I haven't heard back."

"Well, maybe it'd help if I arranged an interview between you and my old golf buddy Bill Senior. See if you and Clark can sniff out the stink under the perfume. Speaking of Clark, haven't seen him around much. He all right?" He glanced at Jimmy then added; "I mean, professionally, of course."

Lois avoided his gaze as she set her mug down, "Well, we're both trying to get all our facts straight..." She risked a glance and added a smile for authenticity, "... so we can figure out what's really going on and make some decisions...about the story."

"Right." Jimmy said as he joined them, took a sip of coffee and choked.

Perry nodded, "Yep. Good plan."

Jimmy swiped the back of his hand across his mouth before adding, "Absolutely."

Lois couldn't help but blink at them both again. What? What was going on? Her eyes widened before she could stop the tell-tale sign. Surely they hadn't figured something out?! Oh hell no. Not on _her watch_!

She silently cleared her throat as she crossed her arms over her breasts, "With the current popularity of the Church group it makes sense to have everything dotted and crossed."

They both nodded firmly as she narrowed her eyes. But the look of challenge she aimed at them in reply was enough to send them to different ends of the bullpen – Perry barking orders along the way.

Sitting back down in her chair she rolled it in tight and reached for her mug, the reporter on the screen above Clark's empty chair wrapping up with; "... so it has to make you wonder, with all the good work being done by the Church Group, what's left for Superman to do these days? Reporting from downtown, this is Grant Burton."

_Good damn question._

**_Bill Church Senior's Office – Mid-Afternoon:_**

Mindy kissed Billy goodbye before he left for a meeting. But instead of running for the shower and change of clothes she needed before going to join her husband she swung her feet back and forth and watched the elevator disappearing while chewing idly on the tip of one red thumbnail.

With a slow smile she leaned back over the desk for the phone and dialed, "Let me speak to him."

There was a brief pause, then her smile changed, "Everything is going to plan. We should have control of the operation within a matter of days. Yes, I know. It's unfortunate that the Father's body proved too weak. But we will find another; have no fear of that Signor Oscuro."

With a final 'arrivederci' she hung up, wriggled off the desk and headed for the shower.

Intergang would get their new leader. But it wasn't who Billy thought it would be. Shame he hadn't been any more suitable than his father really. She shrugged one shoulder. Oh well. Little matter. All that mattered was the endgame. And oh what an endgame it would be.

She laughed musically and closed the bathroom door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two.**

_Daily Planet – Next Day:_

"Kent! You were supposed to cover the mayor's speech. Where the blazes were you?"

"Sorry Chief," Clark frowned as he straightened his glasses. He'd been patrolling the skies, but it wasn't like he could say that to Perry, "I guess I just lost track of time…"

"My office. _Now_." Once Clark had followed him through the door, Perry closed it behind him and made his way to his desk, "For the past three days, you've been almost invisible. It's become quite the occasion when you're here for more than half an hour. What's going on?"

"It's… personal Chief," Clark frowned even more as he tried to find the words without lying. He was sick of lying, even if it was for the greater good, "I'm having to adjust to a few things right now and-"

"Well whatever it is you're '_adjusting to_', I need you to adjust faster," Perry walked round his desk and sat down in his large chair, "You're a damn fine reporter, but no-one can afford to coast along on past successes. Not at The Daily Planet."

Clark nodded firmly, "Yes, Chief, I know. I-"

"And don't think I don't know Lois has been covering your tracks for you."

The words made him grimace, "It won't happen again Chief. I'm sorry."

"See that it doesn't."

Clark nodded again, more firmly than before, then turned to leave; his hand on the door handle when Perry's voice sounded behind him.

"Kent?"

Clark turned, "Yes, Chief?"

"I meant what I said; you're a damn fine reporter. You and Lois are the best team I've ever had work for me," His voice softened as he leaned forwards and rested his forearms on his desk, "But there are plenty of people out there waiting to take your place if you fall off your game. I don't think you want to see that happen any more than I do."

"No. Thanks Chief. It means a lot to know-"

Perry took a deep breath and seemed to be thinking over something before he nodded a little; decision obviously made when he added; "Look, Clark, if there's something troubling you-"

"No. I mean, it really is personal. I'll work my way through it."

"Because if it's something with you and Lois that can't be fixed then I can look into re-assigning you so you don't work together… There's a foreign correspondent spot coming up soon - can't seem to keep anyone in the damn job for long - and-"

Blinking in confusion, Clark shook his head, "I don't want to be re-assigned."

"Hmmm," Perry studied him with narrowed eyes, "Fair enough. We all have a life outside of these walls, and what you do with yours is none of my business – unless it reflects badly on The Planet of course… But I want you to know my door is always open to you. If you have a problem, I'll listen. If you don't feel like telling me then fine…"

He paused and looked Clark directly in the eye, "But tell someone boy. Someone you can trust. It doesn't pay to keep things bottled up inside."

It was good advice. Clark knew that as he opened the door and walked into the unfamiliar quiet of the bullpen. There was only one person he wanted to talk to. He just wasn't sure he wanted to burden her with it. It was still early days for them, the last thing he wanted to do was scare her off. He smiled his first genuine smile in what felt like forever at the thought of 'scaring' Lois Lane. It would take a lot. But his life-

Perry's voice rose again, "And Kent? Go join Lois down at Costmart! I got you both an interview with Church Senior…"

_  
Costmart Superstore, Metropolis – Late Morning:_

Varying famous paintings and sculptures were being brought in by workmen as Bill Church looked on, then he caught sight of his son approaching from the corner of his eye; "Amazing, isn't it? For just a few hundred million, we can have all this beauty..."

"Bargain of the century." Billy replied.

"I mean, what have I been doing with money all these ears, hoarding and investing...? Ridiculous."

"Preposterous."

When his father laughed, Billy laughed with him – the sound a little too loud even to his own ears. Then Mindy sidled up to Bill Senior as her husband added, "I'm glad to see you've come around, son."

"Well, I had a nice long talk with Mrs. Church." He pulled out a cigar from the inside pocket of his jacket and raised his brows at his father, "Dad? Can I tempt you?"

Bill looked at Mindy, "Well, uhhhh..." He smiled when she nodded, "If the nurse says it's all right."

They both slid cigars into their mouths, Mindy standing between them looking at father, then son, as they both patted their pockets for a light. She flicked open a lighter and did the honors.

"She can be very persuasive." Billy smiled.

"Don't I know it." His father replied.

The two men faced each other, puffing away. In the merging plumes of smoke between them, Mindy let out a dainty cough, then, "Uh, honeybun? The man with the Rodin wanted to see you about the bill."

Bill Senior nodded and moved off, leaving Mindy alone with Billy, so she took a step closer and lowered her voice, "I have a kind of a thought…"

Billy continued puffing on his cigar, "Me too."

Sure that her husband was out of the way, Mindy turned and gave the younger man's cheek a stroke with a forefinger that moved down the length of the cigar, "Me three but this thought's business. Your Dad keeps talking about having this fund-raiser... so maybe it could be at a museum?"

She smiled, "And maybe, the museum could be full of really important people and, y'know, art and stuff? And then maybe it could blow up? Which'd maybe..."

"... make the cops think Dad did it to increase the value of his burgeoning personal collection?" Billy took the cigar out of his mouth and looked down at her, "So let me get this straight. You expect me to frame my own father for the murder of hundreds of innocent people?"

She batted her lashes and pouted, "Unless you think it's a bad idea…"

Billy took a moment to consider it, his smile slow, "I love it! The whole thing is just so... _Greek_. Off he goes to a nice, cozy jail, and he'll have to turn the business over to m -, us."

"Oh," Mindy's full lips formed a perfect circle on the word, "I hadn't thought of that part, that's good, that's _really_ good. You're so clever!"

Ego stroked, Billy's mind turned to organizational details; "And I just happen to know a good explosives man is in town..."

_Outside Parking Lot – Same Time:_

Lois brushed away a stray strand of hair displaced by the sudden burst of air as Clark arrived at her side. She glanced sideways at him as he fixed his tie and they began to walk side-by-side across the lot, "So. Been busy I take it? You know..."

When she made an upwards flying motion with her hand Clark looked around them before answering with a low; "Yes."

"Mmm-hmm." She was more open about studying him as he got out his press pass and pinned it to his dark navy jacket, "Doing what exactly? I mean, I don't know about everywhere else, but it's been a little slow around these parts, action-wise…"

"Well..."

Patience apparently in short supply, Lois stopped walking and turned towards him; her eyes narrowed in silent warning, "You wouldn't be trying to use your other identity as an excuse to avoid spending time with me, would you?"

"Why would I do that?" Clark stopped and turned to face her.

"You tell me."

When she quirked her brows and lifted her arms to fold them over the front of her fitted jacket, Clark knew instinctively she'd been over-thinking and jumping to conclusions. And it wasn't that he didn't know how little he'd been around of late, but it had nothing to do with not wanting to spend time with her. How could she not know that?

But before he could open his mouth to say that she astounded him again by adding, "And don't tell me you've been doing what you've always done, 'cos you were around more before. I didn't imagine that. There were times back when I hated you this kind of a break would have felt like Christmas come early. So what's going on?"

It was the second time he'd been confronted about the same thing in less than half an hour, and as much as he knew Perry was right about him needing to talk about it, with Lois' back already up it didn't seem like the right time. He looked around the busy parking lot. Or the right place.

"Lois..." He lowered his voice, "there are certain things you're just gonna have to get used to..."

He knew he'd worded it wrong when the green in her eyes flashed, "Like the urgent need to settle a dispute at a kid's baseball game yesterday? Or the desperate case of the missing dog you returned to a family in Bakerline? See, that's what happens when an Investigative Reporter has a slow news day – she can wile the hours away listening to all the Superman news that normally wouldn't make the front page."

Clark sighed heavily, then made an attempt at humor; "It was a tense situation at that game... kids were yelling at each other, tempers were frayed…there were bats..."

"What's going on?" She searched his eyes, "Why won't you talk to me?"

"Lois –"

An ebullient Bill Church Senior chose that moment to appear from the corner of the large building, "Lois, Clark... Perry said you would be dropping by… wonderful to see you."

At a picnic table set up inside the loading bay of the building they all sat down under a large umbrella, Mindy sitting down with them as Church Junior hovered nearby unloading what looked like crates of artwork.

"... and every Costmart is now going to have displays of the world's great art, so people can shop for bargains and experience the beauty of culture at the same time."

Lois blinked in obvious disbelief but managed to control her sarcasm to state; "Must be costing you a fortune."

Bill Senior smiled, "Well, one thing I've learned from my wife... don't ask the price, when the reward is joy. Right, pookey?"

"Right, hunky." She smiled back.

They nuzzled each other while Clark smiled inwardly at Lois' expression. He'd bet she'd just struck a couple more names off their list…

He cleared his throat, "Mr. Church, given the allegations that you're involved with Intergang –"

The man was still staring at his new wife, "You know, being with someone you really love is the greatest joy there is. It's life-altering..."

Lois and Clark glanced sideways at each other; Lois' accusatory raised brow making Clark frown a little.

"... it's soul-changing, the summit of all human desire... and when you achieve it, it's as if mind and body finally merge... and set you free." Bill added.

Mindy nodded, "Totally."

As if suddenly remembering they had company, Bill lifted a plate and offered it to Lois, "Cookie? They're low fat."

"Thanks, but no, I'm already over my quota for sweetness today. Back to the Intergang allegations Mr. Church –"

It was enough to make Church Junior join the conversation, confirming Clark's suspicions that he'd been listening all along, "Mr. Kent, Ms. Lane, my father's alleged past is just that...alleged and past. So why don't we take a cue from the masterworks being brought in here and get our minds out of the gutter?"

Lois lifted her chin, "That's a very nice speech, Mr. Church but –"

Looking at Lois and Clark as she blew a bubble-gum balloon, Mindy let it pop before interrupting, "You guys a thing?"

"Excuse me?" Lois stared at her as if she couldn't quite believe she'd asked the question out loud.

"You going out? You seem like a thing." She shrugged nonchalantly, "Not a real happy thing but – hey… oh look… she's blushing. How cute is that?"

Clark set his palm on the inward curve of Lois' spine and flexed his fingers as anger radiated off her in waves. She glared at him. But it bought enough time for Bill Senior to speak. Not that what he said helped any;

"If you two feel you need any guidance, Costmart carries a series of videotapes on relationship exercises. Money back guarantee if you don't see marked improvement in six weeks." He leaned forwards and smiled lasciviously, "Includes a coupon for a free vial of massage oil."

After a moment of stunned silence, Lois grabbed her purse and voice recorder from the table-top, "I think we're done here."

Taking a moment to thank them for their time, Clark extended his stride to catch up with Lois as she stormed around the corner and across the parking lot. Once he reached her side and pushed his glasses into place, she let loose, "Do you realize what just happened? We were sent to investigate and spent the whole time wallowing in our own problems enough for people to notice. Wallowing is your area, not mine. At least it used to be. But not this time – oh no – this time we wallowed together. I _hate _wallowers – I hated you when you were a wallower, remember? And now we're a couple of sighing, slack-jawed, self-pitying _wallowers_. Ain't love grand!"

Clark was learning which parts of Lois' tirades to pay attention to and which to ignore. And since he thought wallowing was an exaggeration, "For what it's worth, I x-rayed under the store and found evidence of machinery being dismantled. Church could be telling the truth."

"Are you kidding?" She shook her head in disbelief, "Next you'll be telling me you bought his lovey-dovey, newlywed spew."

"Well, I'd like to hope that being in love with someone changes your life, maybe gets you to think about things in a new way..."

They stopped beside her jeep, Lois turning on her heel and lifting her chin to look up into his eyes, "And doesn't that big love change start with communication? Getting things out in the open? _Talking_…"

"Lois-"

"No, Clark," She frowned hard, "Talking to each other was part of the deal. And don't try telling me there's not something going on, 'cos I'm not stupid. You spend less time with me now than you did when we weren't…"

When she waved a hand between them and couldn't seem to find the word, Clark lifted his brows in question and tried a tentative; "Dating?"

Still couldn't use the word, could she?

The use of it made her cock her head at a sarcastic angle, "_Oh really_? Is that what we're doing? Can't say I'd noticed. Cos people who date supposedly do it cos they want to spend time with each other. I'm not seeing any great evidence of that of late. And I've tried being patient," There was a burst of sardonic laughter, "Even when me and patience go together like-"

"Hot fudge and halibut?"

Futile as she knew it was, Lois punched him in the upper arm; glaring at him when he remembered to flinch, "Quit trying to avoid the subject and tell me what's going on. You're making me needy Clark Kent. I don't _do _needy! It even crossed my mind last night that I might get to see your face faster if I jumped off a bridge somewhere and -"

"_Don't_!" Voice rising, Clark took a step towards her and grabbed hold of her narrow shoulders as he frowned fiercely at her, "I mean it Lois. Don't do something to put yourself in danger when I might not get there in time to-"

When he saw her grimace he jerked back, his hands dropping as he stared at her in horror, "_Lois _– "

The small hand that had been rubbing at one shoulder as she rolled it stilled, her head shaking as she looked up at him with confusion filling her eyes, "Relax. You didn't break any bones. What's going on with you?"

When he took a deep breath and turned ninety degrees, she stepped around him and looked up into his eyes again. What she saw made her frown, "It's not just run of the mill avoiding me, is it? It's something bigger."

When he stood taller in response, she glanced around them and lowered her voice, "Do your thing."

"What thing?"

"You know, that thing you do," She jerked her brows, "Check there's no-one listening in, or watching, or anything else that might make this the wrong place to have this conversation."

"Why would anyone be watching us?"

When she frowned at him again, he capitulated; lowering his glasses and surreptitiously making a scan of the area as he listened in for anything out of the usual. Happy there wasn't an army of surveillance surrounding them he asked; "What made you think anyone would be watching us?"

"Well I don't know, do I?" She folded her arms again, "Last thing either of us needs is a slip up that might lead to you being taken somewhere for an intensive session of testing. You can't tell me that kind of thing hasn't crossed your mind at some point."

"It has. Thanks."

The flash of understanding in her eyes let him know she understood how that must have felt for him, but all it did was make him feel even guiltier for grabbing hold of her the way he had. He should know better. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, least of all physically.

"Why are you being like this?"

Pushing back his jacket, Clark shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers, "Like what?"

She gaped at him for a moment, "Are you kidding me?"

Looking around them again, Clark took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes in thought. He didn't want to argue with her. Rock and a hard place. Cause a rift between them by arguing or open up, tell her truth and show her just how difficult it was going to be being around him on the bad days. It shouldn't have to be that way. They'd already been through so much to get to where they were. And there would be plenty of tough times in the future, he didn't doubt that.

"This isn't how it's gonna be with us Smallville. I mean it." The softer tone to her voice surprised him enough to make him look at her again as she stepped back, unfolded her arms and pointed her forefinger, "In. Now."

Cocooned inside her jeep, Lois waited for him to close the door and turn towards her before she took a breath, "Talk to me."

Clark knew from the determination in her voice that she wasn't going to let it go, so he dove straight in, "I was putting out a forest fire in Northern California…"

Lois nodded, "I heard about that."

Turning his head, he looked out of the windscreen as a mother tried to negotiate a packed trolley with a screaming baby in it with an errant three or four year old running around her feet. Sometimes he felt he viewed the whole world through a window. Millions of people living the kind of everyday life he'd once wanted so badly for himself. On days like today it made him feel…_detached_…

Then he stared past the scene into the distance and let the memory replay in his mind, "Less than five minutes. That's how late I was when I got to Metropolis International."

It took a few seconds, but Lois knew what he was referring to; "The plane crash."

"Yes." The flight crew of the jet had done a heroic job of bringing the plane down in a nearby field, but three passengers had died. And Superman hadn't been there in time, "Less than five minutes, Lois."

There was the sound of movement and then her hand curled around his where it gripped his knee. While she gently loosening the grip, Clark's chin dropped to watch, then she turned his hand over and threaded her fingers through his; squeezing to get his attention. When he looked up she had understanding written in her eyes,

"So your way of dealing with it was to stay on patrol every minute of every day and night ever since, right?"

Clark nodded. Superman had maintained an almost constant presence in the city's skies while Clark brooded over those three deaths to the point where it was effecting his double life. He'd put a strain on his relationship with Lois, got into trouble with his Editor, hadn't stopped to eat or sleep. And looking into Lois' eyes he knew she knew all of that without him saying it out loud. But then she'd always been able to read him, even when she didn't know the whole story about who and what he was…

"Don't do that to yourself," Her brow furrowed as she said the words in the impossibly soft tone he'd once found so difficult to associate with the Lois Lane he'd thought he knew, "Even if you'd been in Metropolis at the time, there's no guarantee you could have saved those people."

"I know."

"Do you?" She smiled a smile that warmed a part of his heart that had been aching for days, "I read the report on that crash. Happened at take-off, just a few seconds warning. You'd have had to be right there at the scene to have done any good. And who knows how many lives you saved by putting out that forest fire."

He nodded again, looking back down at their joined hands and allowing himself to focus on the simple differences in size and shape as he moved his longer fingers against her finer boned ones. She was right. He knew that. But there would always be a part of him that found it hard to accept, no matter how many times he was reminded about the concept of 'damage control' or that every life he saved was one less lost. Why didn't it ever feel like enough to him?

"You're able to do so many wonderful things, but you can't be everywhere all at once. Nor can you right all the Earth's wrongs...You dwell on the 'what might have been's' and you'll tie yourself up in knots. You're just one man and you already do an amazing amount of good. You need to remember that…"

When he looked up she smiled again, "Better still; I won't let you forget it. But a life... a love... they help you remember what it is you're fighting for... You can't give up who you are to try and do the impossible and that's what'll happen if you let Superman take over your life to the exclusion of everything else. I won't let you do that either by the way…"

"How do you do that?" He asked in a rough edged voice.

"Do what?"

"Say the right words when I need to hear them most." He'd never gotten an answer to that question, no matter how many times he asked it…

"Well…" Her eyes sparkled at him, "I'd have done it sooner given the chance. But since you decided to go brood somewhere I couldn't walk past farm animals to get to you –"

Clark silenced her with a single long finger against her lips, smiling when she lifted her brows in question. Her eyes narrowed the tiniest amount.

"You've always done that." He told her, "You make jokes to try and make something less important than it is. Let's try and give the moment the appreciation it deserves, shall we?"

She tilted her head to one side and quirked a finely arched brow.

Clark nodded, "I know you'd rather I listen to what you have to say and let it go without telling you how much it means to me. You don't like it when I get sappy. You've said. But you've brought it on yourself this time…"

The lips beneath his finger parted slightly.

But having spent so many days silent and alone, feeling detached from the world below him and weighed down by the responsibility he hadn't felt he was living up to, that she'd made it so easy for him to talk and had been stronger spirited than he'd been himself, opened up a well of emotion in Clark. And things he should have said a long time ago came spilling out;

"I know the reason you've developed this knee-jerk thing - covering up the important stuff with humor; it's a defense mechanism. But you don't need to hold back from me, Lois. Any more than I need to hold anything back from you after today. I needed to talk to someone about this, I should have before now. But I avoided coming to talk to you because a part of me didn't want to scare you off. I should have known better. One of the many reasons I love you is because you're as strong in spirit as Superman is physically."

There was a small puff of air against his finger as she exhaled.

"We're not all that different you and me; we've both been scared of our feelings in the past. And we've both been in relationships where we felt insecure. But not this time. This time we both know how we feel and where we want to be. I've missed you. I never stop thinking about you, no matter where I am or what I'm doing. I need you to know that."

In a brief silence, her eyes softened with emotion and Clark knew he was making progress in healing the small rift he'd put between them as he tried to work his way through his problems the way he used to before he had Lois. What he'd said to Perry hadn't been a lie; he _was _making adjustments. And it had been a very long time since he'd shared his life with someone the way he wanted to with Lois – if he ever had. After all, he'd never been in a relationship with a woman when he'd had the kind of life he had now, had he? He doubted any woman but Lois would be able to cope with it. She knew him better than anyone. Didn't treat him any different now she knew everything - had just forgiven him for something he hadn't been able to forgive himself for and maybe never would…

With a deep breath he frowned as he broached the subject of what had happened outside the jeep, "That's why I reacted the way I did just now when you said you'd considered doing something dangerous to get my attention. Don't even joke about that Lois. After that little adventure of yours in a plane the other day… and then seeing the aftermath of that crash… I thought about how it would have felt if it had been the plane you were on and I hadn't got there in time. If I lost you –"

"_I'm right here_."

The softly spoken words moved her lips against his finger like a kiss, and Clark felt the impact of the tiny gesture to the very soles of his feet. He turned his hand so that he was cupping her chin and still had the pad of his thumb brushing against her bottom lip; the softness of her mouth fascinating him out of speech while he suddenly became more aware of the familiar summer flowers scent that had drifted by him during the interview like a whisper on the wind.

"_Clark_-"

She said his name softly. In a way that could be interpreted as a plea for him to stop or a need for him to take what he was doing a step further. Considering how she was looking at him, Clark decided to believe it was the latter. He really had missed her. _So very much_. His heart ached at the memory of it. So with his gaze still fixed on her mouth, he lowered his head and pressed a soft, exploratory kiss to her lips. It felt like forever since he'd last kissed her. And she must have felt the same because she made a low moan of approval in the base of her throat. So Clark took it as an invitation to seek more, searching her mouth from edge to edge as Lois reciprocated. It was a kiss that spoke of mutually felt emotion, of giving and understanding – and _need_. A kiss that could have healed a thousand wounds if he'd sought it out sooner…

The moment he ran his tongue over her bottom lip she sighed and opened up to him. Suddenly what they were doing wasn't enough, Lois' hands bunching into tight fistfuls of shirt against his chest while she moved her head to keep her mouth on his as a sensual dual began. It was always that way with them, even though Clark could simply have spent hours kissing her given the chance, a part of him instinctively sought out the flicker of fire inside her - an answering heat building in his own body. He wanted her. He couldn't remember ever wanting a woman the way he wanted her.

Her hands flattened, smoothing over his chest, then lower – where the touch made his stomach muscles contract. It was enough to make him drag his mouth from hers and look down at her as she smiled knowingly; forcing him to grumble a warning at her,

"Time and place. This isn't it."

"Well the space restrictions would obviously require a little imagination - but it's not outside the realms of possibility." She breathed deep and caught her lower lip between her teeth, slowly letting it slide free before she added; "We just need to work some on your sense of adventure…"

Clark leaned further back and waited for her eyes to open before lifting his brows, "In broad daylight. In the middle of the day. In a parking lot. That's not adventurous Lois, that's get us arrested."

"Okay, so it's not ideal."

"Or the least little bit romantic."

"It's not actually reserved for a particular time of day, Smallville," The sparkling in her eyes told him she was seeing his protests as feeble, "Or place for that matter. Granted, this isn't ideal or romantic but…"

"At least we agree on something."

Lois rolled her eyes, "_But_. For future reference? There's a lot to be said for variety…"

Shaking his head, Clark leaned further away from the danger zone, forcing his imagination not to play her game, "There's just as much to be said for spontaneity. I'm one of those people who thinks talking about it too much before it happens puts a dent in that."

Lois blinked at him a couple of times, "You know what would help with the spontaneity in this relationship? You being around more. So can we agree that baseball disputes and stray dogs don't fall under Superman's remit for the foreseeable?"

When her fingers flexed against his stomach, Clark covered her hands with his and slid them upwards so he could lay a kiss on each of her palms before reluctantly letting go, "We can."

"Good." She retrieved her purse from where it had fallen onto the floor, reaching in for her keys, "You coming back to the office?"

"Yes. Perry talked to me. He noticed my absence."

She froze, "What did he say?"

"Nothing I didn't deserve," He looked her in the eye as he continued, "And he knows you've been covering for me - asked if we were having problems -said he could re-assign me if we were."

"I thought I was doing a better job of covering your tracks." Lois frowned.

"You can't cover the fact I haven't been there."

Pushing her key forcibly into the slot, she sat back in her seat, "Any time anyone asked where you were I came up with a plausible cover story. I know I did. I even faked a couple of phone-calls. And it's not like the newsroom has been buzzing."

"Probably part of the reason he noticed," Clark waited for her to look at him again, "It's not your fault Lois."

"It was on _my_ watch!" With a deep sigh of frustration she lifted her hands to the steering wheel and drummed her fingers while she looked out the windscreen. Then she turned, "What made him think we were having problems? How does he even know there's a '_we_'? Did you say something?"

The question made him smile patiently, "No, I didn't say something. I haven't been around to say something - that's the problem. But the man's not blind, Lois. Maybe he was worried our relationship was getting in the way of our work…"

The reasoning made Lois snort softly, "Yeah, cos we worked together so much better when we didn't get along. He better not be trying to break us up cos we're… _involved_…"

"The word 'dating' get's stuck in your throat, doesn't it?"

She ignored him, "We make a good team. We've had more front page headlines than anyone else in that office - and it was his idea to team us up in the first place."

"Not that you thought it was a good idea at the time…"

"That was then. Tell me you didn't take a re-assignment."

"Of course I didn't take a re-assignment," Reaching out, he ran the backs of his knuckles along her jaw and then unfurled his fingers to cup her chin and turn her head, "Why would I do that?"

Lois shrugged the shoulder nearest to him, "Maybe if you weren't sat straight across from his office door he wouldn't notice you were gone so often."

"Looking rid of me Lane?"

"No, I'm not done with you yet," She smiled a slow smile steeped in meaning.

Clark was already leaning in for another kiss when he heard the far-off sound of sirens. Ambulances? No. An ambulance and a fire truck. And another fire truck. Two engine fire. Meant it was serious.

Lois sighed deeply, "I'm learning to read that look better when I see it. You need to work on hiding your frown of concentration better. What is it this time?"

"Two engine fire."

"Means it's serious."

Clark nodded and opened the door, hesitating for the briefest moment to shoot a silent apology at her, "I'll be back as fast as I can."

The statement made her lift her chin higher, "You better be. I get one whiff of you anywhere near a baseball bat in the cape and I swear-"

Stealing a last kiss was too much of a temptation. The words 'I love you' the last he said before he closed the door behind him and jogged towards the nearest deserted space out of the public eye.

Back inside the jeep Lois' cellphone rang; forcing her to fumble in her bag as she ducked down to watch the streak of color crossing the sky, "Lois Lane."

"You know what it's like out here? No crime, no snatching, no food - I'm starving! And there's nothing in your fridge."

Lois shook her head at the sound of her informants voice; "Bobby. I thought we agreed you weren't breaking into my apartment anymore."

The sound of bottles rattling indicated her refrigerator door was being opened, "Pickles and mustard. All you got is pickles and mustard. What kinda person lives like this? If my mother saw this, she'd put a curse on you."

"If you'd waited till I got there I might have brought you a sandwich. You were s'posed to meet me outside in a half hour."

"You don't have crackers? Nuts? Some of those little styrofoam packing squiggles? Did I mention I'm starving?"

"There's probably ice in the freezer. Chew on some. I'll be there in ten minutes."

He sighed heavily, "What am I, a beverage? No, it's all right, it's okay ... I've been feeling lately this food obsession of mine is masking some deeper emotional trauma anyway."

Lois smiled as she reached for her key, "Really."

"No, I'm just trying to talk myself out of eating your chair." There was another rattle of bottles as her fridge door closed, "Anyway, don't make a wasted journey. I can tell you over the phone. I just got a tip the Church boys reached out to Joe Arlo."

"Wait, I know that name..."

"Explosives expert outta Atlanta. Nickname's –"

"Joe the Blow." Lois mentally clicked her fingers as it came to her; "Used to work for the CIA."

"Clever girl. Of course, you've probably had protein in the last two hours, whereas my body is beginning to consume itself. I have an address for where he's stayin in town – flew in early this morning, would have been earlier but with that crash at the airport and all… You got a pen?"

"I do. Hang on," Ignoring her key in favour of opening the glove compartment for a pen and paper she scribbled down the address he gave her, "Thanks Bobby."

"Hey, I'm not doing this for you. This town stays crime-free, I'm looking at having to live on three meals an hour."

Lois shook her head, "There's money in-"

"The drawer in the hall where you keep tips for delivery guys. Yeah, I know. Thanks for lunch. Good luck."

"Lock the door again Bobby."

"What am I, an amateur?"

_Skies Above Metropolis – Same Time:_

Superman picked up the police transmission from the air, "... fire at the Metropolitan Building, penthouse... can't get a helicopter up there, winds are too strong..."

He focussed his vision across the city to where smoke was drifting from the penthouse windows. Then to his horror, he saw a woman extend her arms like an Olympic diver and swan dive off the side of the building. She plummeted twenty stories as he sped towards her.

Tumbling as she picked up speed, the street rushed up at her as she let out her first scream; a scream that was suddenly cut short…

"It's all right, I've got you."

The blonde haired woman beamed at him, "Yes... yes, you do."

She laced her hands around his neck and Clark felt her brushing her fingertips against his skin; almost as if she needed to reassure herself he was real. He got that a lot in moments of crisis. So he smiled down at her.

"I'm going to set you on the balcony while I deal with the fire."

There was a man on the balcony, so Clark nodded at him as he set the woman on her feet and walked into the penthouse, sucking in large lungfuls of air to deal with the flames that had taken hold and engulfed the room.

Outside, the man lifted what looked like a mobile phone, his voice barely above a whisper as he turned towards the woman, "You're sure you tagged him?"

"On the neck. Are you getting a reading?"

"Not yet."

"Adjust the calibrations to a higher frequency…"

Superman stepped out of the penthouse while the man slipped the tracker into his pocket, "It's all right. The fire's out now. Are you both okay?"

They both sighed large sighs of relief, "Thank you so much Superman."

The woman shook his hand as the man stepped back and leaned down to lift something from a bag, "I'm Diana Stride."

"Yes, Ms Stride. I've seen your news show."

A light appeared, catching Superman's attention and making him realize the man now had a camera on his shoulder. As he glanced at it from the corner of his eye the woman stepped forwards and turned so she was facing the camera,

"Really? You watch TV?"

"Once in a while." He rubbed his neck where Diana had touched him, noticing how they glanced at each other as he dropped his hand, "Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"This is my cameraman; Rolf."

Rolf raised a hand, "Pleasure to meet you."

Superman folded his arms, "What were you two doing up here?"

"We came to get some vista shots for a piece Diana's doing on urban renewal." Rolf informed him.

Reaching his hand up again, Superman scratched the back of his neck.

Diana smiled, "Then we just stumbled into an exclusive. I can't imagine how this fire got started. Can you, Rolf?"

"No idea."

Dropping his hand again, Superman eyed them with a calm expression before informing them; "I checked the elevator, it's still working. You should be able to get down okay."

"Superman, if there's ever anything I can do for you..."

"Thank you. Take care, Ms. Stride." He nodded at the camera before turning away, "Nice to meet you, Rolf."

As he took to the air, Rolf lowered his camera, "So good, so decent. Don't you just want to vomit? Feels like the whole damn city is full of it now."

"Nice quads, though." Diana waggled her fingers for the transmitter, then looked down at it. It beeped. She smiled, "It's working. We can track him."

Then the beeping stopped and she frowned, "Wait. What's wrong?"

Rolf looked over her shoulder, "He's so fast he just flew out of range."

"Well get him in range again. Then it's just a matter of time before we have the story of the century. Take some shots of the fire damage," She followed Rolf inside, "Face it Rolf - our show has always been uplifting and intellectually challenging. That's why our ratings suck. So I've decided - people want dirt, we'll give them the _dirtiest_, starting with Superman. Everything the public is _dying _to know. What are his weaknesses? Who are the women in his life?

Rolf winked as he turned his camera off and packed it away, "I for one would love to meet those girls."

Diana smiled again, "But most importantly... who is he when he's out of uniform?. Does he have another life... a secret identity? If he does, we're going to expose it on worldwide television, it'll be sensational, it'll be... the scoop of a lifetime at the very minute this city needs one."

"You're a genius."

"I am, aren't I?"

_Metropolis Express Hotel – Early Afternoon:_

The infamous Joe The Blow was closing his hotel room door behind him as Lois hid around the corner. She counted to twenty-Mississippi, then peeked around the corner. _All clear_.

But she knocked the door to be sure, "Housekeeping."

It was a stretch considering where she was. She doubted they even had housekeeping; not judging from the way the soles of her shoes were sticking to the carpet. When no-one answered, she took out a lock-pick kit – the lock clicking open in a matter of seconds. Lois grinned. Nope, hadn't lost her touch.

When the door squeaked open then squeaked shut behind her, she looked around the room. Depressing. Somehow she'd thought a professional bomber was paid enough to pay for better accommodation. Oh well, she shrugged off the thought – _aha _- a toolbox. She picked the lock on it too, unwilling to sit on the bed as she worked in case her skirt stuck to the covers the same way her feet had to the floor.

Explosive devices. Mid-assembly.

Looking carefully through the wires and circuits in case anything went boom, she spotted something out of place. What was it? She unfolded it and looked it over. A floor plan? Of where? Pushing her hand into her pocket, she got out her phone, laid the diagram flat on the dresser and took a couple of pictures. Then she put the diagram back exactly where she'd found it, locked the box, left the room – and made sure the door was shut behind her again.

She smiled on her way down the hall. Some days it was just too damn easy. Now she had the target it was time to find out everything there was to know about Mister Blow. And his connection to the Church's…

It felt good to be on familiar ground again. Hunting down the bad guy was a piece of cake compared to what Clark faced every minute of every day. Not that she hadn't known what Superman did before, but she'd never thought about it as much as she had since she'd realized it was Clark, the man she loved, who was making those choices. Life and death decisions; literally. Every. Single. Day.

How did he do it?

Taking the stairs, she slipped out through a fire exit and into the alley where she'd parked her jeep. Putting Clark Kent and Superman into the one person made her realize how much more difficult it was for him. If he hadn't been Clark, raised by Jonathan and Martha in Kansas and caring about the people around him the way he did, how different would Superman have been? She doubted very much he would have been torturing himself the way he had the last few days…

Behind the wheel of the jeep, she turned the key and pulled out of the alley, merging into the Metropolis traffic and making her way back to the Planet. Had she said the right things to him? He said she had. So why did she still feel she should have been able to do more? But then realistically what could she do? No-one could ever do what he did.

When she switched lanes a cab driver yelled at her out of his window, then another cab cut her up after a turn – things had a way of balancing themselves out Lois supposed.

But what if she wasn't enough for him? What if, in time, all the fears she'd once had about her relationship with Oliver were magnified a hundred times with Clark? She remembered what it had taken to let Oliver go. And she'd never felt half of what she felt for Clark. If it had hurt that much to let go of Oliver…

She shook her head as the traffic slowed down, drumming her fingers on the wheel again as she watched crowds of people making their way across a crossing. Everyone was in a rush to get where they were going. They had busy lives, places to be, things to do, problems to deal with. Lois tried to remember if she'd ever thought about other people the way she had of late. That was Clark's doing. She was starting to look at the bigger picture the way he did. Or rather, she was starting to look at people's lives more than she had before because that was something else he did, wasn't it? Except that he looked at it in global terms. Lois had never much looked at it beyond the very small circle of people she cared about until she got into the reporting business. Even at the start she'd been more concerned with the headline than she had been about the people the story effected.

A car length forwards and she thought about the first time she'd considered how her stories effected people. When exposing the truth had started to matter more than a headline. Even then it had been more about getting the bad guy than doing it for the people the bad guy might hurt. It had taken a while for her to understand and make sense of it all and know when something was worth fighting for and -

Clark was worth fighting for.

What was it she'd said to him? Something about a life and a love being worth fighting for? She smiled. She had no idea where that had come from. But it was true. Maybe she needed to pay more attention to her own words. Worry less about how much time she had with Clark and concentrate on making the most of the time they did have. That had never occurred to her when she was with Oliver. Lois wondered why…

Maturity she supposed. She was older and theoretically wiser now.

Finally there was a break in the traffic she could slip through, so she dodged in and out from lane to lane until she was a block away from the underground parking closest to the Planet. There was still a small part of her that wasn't all that mature; a part that was still a little girl convinced she wasn't good enough. Lois knew where that came from, she understood the origins of it, she'd got past it for the most part - even if it involved a lot of over-compensating along the way. But letting someone into her heart had always shaken that part of her loose again. Loving Clark as much as she did tapped into it big time. But she wasn't going to run away the way she had with Oliver. The simple truth was she'd never felt Oliver needed her as much as Clark did. She could feel it in him. It echoed a part of her. She'd seen the anguish in his eyes when he had told her how losing her would feel. It was how she would feel if she ever lost him…

He was right. Lois rolled her eyes at the thought. He did that a lot. But super-powers aside, he was right – they weren't all that different.

_Subterranean Office Of Bill Church Senior – Late Afternoon:_

The old office was almost completely dismantled; one work light burning as Billy opened the attached picture files on the email he'd received, "We have a problem."

Mindy walked round the desk and looked over his shoulder, "That reporter…"

"…is on to Joe the Blow. And if she connects him to the museum…"

Turning, Mindy sat down on the edge of the desk and began filing her nails, "I know I'm kind of new at all this but is it a big problem killing her?"

"From what I hear she's kinda tight with Superman. Makes it complicated."

She continued filing, "Unless…"

"Yeah?" Billy looked up in interest, not quite sure what it was about Mindy that made him suspicious about everything and anything.

"You came up with some kind of really brilliant way of keeping him busy?" She shrugged and continued filing, "Like getting him out of town? By causing some kind of big disaster someplace else? That might work…"

"It might."

_Daily Planet Bullpen – Evening:  
_

Jimmy and Perry lingered near the open door, pretending to go over some photos as Lois and Clark sat at their desks, each of them stealing glances at the other when they probably thought no-one was noticing.

"Norcross and Judd."

Jimmy blinked, "Sorry?"

"Billy Norcross and Serena Judd." Perry elaborated, "Reporters before your time. Almost as good as those two. They were an inch from the Pulitzer when..."

"... they got involved?" He waited for Perry to nod then asked; "And it didn't work out?"

"Son, it was such a disaster, they shoulda filed for federal aid. She ended up teaching yoga to oil workers in Anchorage. He emptied every bottle in the Tri-State area, found God and started his own cable TV ministry." He looked at Lois and Clark as they both looked at each other at the same time, "All cause they were partners, best friends... and fell in love."

"Yeah, but Lois and Clark? They've been through a lot together – they've known each other for years – if I were to tell you some of the stuff –"

"The more they're tangled up the worse it is, you mark my words," Perry turned back into his office, "Norcross and Judd."

Clark hung up the phone, "The e-mail from Iberia should be here in a few minutes and then we can get out of here."

"Good." Lois tapped on her keyboard and sneaked another look at him from beneath long lashes.

"Okay..." Clark clicked his mouse, "Queen to King one. Your move."

When she turned her attention to her screen and concentrated on her move, he leaned back in his chair and lowered his chin so he could watch her over the rim of his glasses. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had the simple luxury of just looking at her. Given the chance he could look at her for hours. And he really had missed her.

"Quit that."

"Quit what?"

"You know what." She narrowed her eyes and caught her lower lip between her teeth as her fingers wavered above the keyboard.

"Still your move."

Her glare didn't quite work when it was accompanied by sparkling eyes, so Clark smiled at her. She rolled her eyes in reply and he chuckled softly, absent-mindedly reaching a hand to the back of his neck where his skin tingled. It had been doing that all afternoon.

A small frown preceded the lowering of Lois' hands and a glance around the bullpen before she looked him in the eye; "You better not be holding back."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning when I whoop your ass at cyber chess it's gonna be with all your cylinders firing or not at all."

The corners of Clark's mouth twitched.

"_Dammit_!" She flopped back in her chair, "Now you've sucked all the fun out of it for me. How many times have you let me win at something?"

"I can't control the roll of a dice."

"We're changing games." She sat forwards again.

"No point. The email will be here soon." When he rocked his chair from side to side and it squeaked she jerked her brows at him. When he stopped she smiled. Then they both sat in silence and a different game began.

It had been building at a slow pace since he'd returned to the office and they'd started working on the assignments Perry had given them. Since Metropolis was so quiet, the Planet had been focussing more on stories from outside the city – so Clark gave Lois the inside track on the Superman stories while he compiled some of the overseas news passed on by the soon-to-depart foreign correspondent Perry had mentioned earlier. But as they worked the glances had become more frequent. Sometimes their gazes would tangle, sometimes one or the other of them would smile, they'd made frequent trips to the coffee station where the touch of fingertips would draw their attention and cause more glances – some of which would drop to mouths and rise with hidden messages only they could read.

Truth be told, it had been driving Clark crazy.

Lois glanced around the room again, then looked at him with heavy lashes. She lifted her chin and smiled meaningfully, then drew his gaze to her mouth by slowly damping her lips with the rosy tip of her tongue.

Clark breathed deeply through his nose. When he averted his gaze and tugged on his tie to loosen it at his throat, his super-hearing caught a low, husky burst of soft female laughter. _Witch_. She knew what she was doing. He glanced around the room, pushing his glasses into place as he shot her a warning glare from underneath his fringe.

But Lois simply caught her lower lip between her teeth again and purposefully lifted a hand to brush her gleaming hair over her shoulder as she leaned back in her chair. When Clark's gaze shifted to watch what she was doing, her hand tucked the same strand of hair behind her ear – then she slowly trailed her fingers down her neck, past the collar of her deep green blouse and along the open edge towards her cleavage.

Clark's gaze lifted sharply and tangled with hers as her darkened eyes sparkled and she blinked lazily. He shook his head the tiniest amount. As Superman he'd rescued dozens of women who'd thrown themselves at him, wrapped their arms around his neck and tried to thank him in ways that made him fight not to blush like a schoolboy. But Lois had only to look at him the way she was looking at him and he was instantaneously transformed from blushing schoolboy to red blooded male; one who was a thin thread away from –

The musical note from his computer signified an email. So Clark sent up a silent prayer that it was what they'd been waiting for…

"Is that it?"

He fought the need to punch his fists in the air above his head, "Yes."

"Hurry up then," While he typed she lifted her hair off her shoulders with both hands and held it in a loose tangle behind her head. Then she sighed with a low moan and stretched, arching her back and angling her head and half closing her eyes and –

"Lane?" Clark's voice was terse.

"Kent?" She blinked innocently at him.

"One word."

"Payback?"

Oh yeah, he knew she knew he knew what she was doing. But she was wrong - that wasn't the word he had in mind. He hit the print key, "Elevator. _Now_."

When he rolled his chair back and headed for the printer, the smile sounded in Lois' voice, "That's two words again. Your math sucks."

She was pushing her arms into the sleeves of her jacket when he met her at the elevator,; his story fisted in one hand while he pushed the elevator key repeatedly with the thumb of his other hand as she told him; "I already did that."

Clark kept pushing it, his gaze fixed on the lights above the door, "A few more times can't hurt."

Very obviously stifling laughter, Lois looked up at the lights the same way Clark was and dropped her voice to a seductive low, "You know – you could do that slower and with a little more care and it would have the same result in the end…"

Clark fought for patience.

While Lois stepped close enough to touch her shoulder to his upper arm and lower her voice to a whisper, "All those different floors to visit along the way… starting at the bottom and slowly rising all the way up to-"

The doors slid open and Clark practically manhandled her into the elevator while she chuckled. He then repeatedly pushed the button to close the doors again, turning to back her into a corner as they began to slide shut, "Lois – we need to talk about your ability to drive me crazy."

"Talking's over-rated," She grabbed hold of the lapels of his jacket and tugged him closer, her chin lifting and her gaze fixed on his mouth.

"Hold the elevator!"

The sound of Jimmy's voice made Clark drop his chin to his chest and groan in frustration while Lois could barely contain herself as Jimmy's hand appeared in the small gap and pushed the doors open again.

"Hey you guys," He hit a button on the wall and grinned at them each in turn as Clark turned around and leaned against the wall beside Lois, "What's up?"

Lois looked at Clark from the corner of her eye, and dissolved into raucous laughter while Clark shook his head and looked at the ceiling.

"What did I say?"

Choking back her laughter, Lois took the sheet of paper from Clark's hand, "Are you going to copy editing?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Could you drop this in for us?"

"Sure," He took the paper from her, then looked from one of them to the other and back again, "Are you guys okay?"

Lois waved a hand, "Oh don't mind us; private joke."

"O-kay."

When he studied them again they both smiled at him, making him frown a little before he turned around and faced the doors.

Lois glanced at Clark at the same time as he frowned sideways at her in warning. Her shoulders shook. Shaking his head again, Clark took a deep breath and tried to focus on something to take his mind off what he'd planned on doing in the elevator. _Alone _with Lois. He'd planned on kissing her senseless, he'd planned on crushing her to him and moulding her body to his and showing her how much he'd missed her. He'd wanted her to know –

Jimmy turned around, "We should go out or something. You guys wanna grab something to eat?"

They stared at him, then glanced at each other, Clark taking a moment to clear his throat so his voice didn't come out on a squeak, "Now?"

The shrug was a little too nonchalant, "We never seem to get the time anymore. Thought we could catch up…"

Lois glanced at Clark again, "Well, we've all been pretty busy…"

"We have," Clark nodded and looked at Jimmy again, feeling guilty on several levels as he weakly added; "I guess we could grab something to eat…"

"Great," Jimmy beamed at them again, "It'll be like the old days."

Lois and Clark smiled back. But the second he turned around Lois widened her eyes and jerked her head in Jimmy's direction. Clark grimaced in return. Lois sighed heavily. So Clark reached out a hand and slid it around her waist, drawing her closer to his side and studying the top of her bowed head as she turned towards him.

She set her palm over his heart and lifted her chin; smiling slowly as she focussed her gaze on his mouth. Clark smiled back, pressing a kiss to her forehead and breathing in the scent of her hair as he looked sideways at the back of Jimmy's head. Lois slid her had down his chest and onto his stomach, making Clark suck in a sharp breath. Lois' smile grew. So when she lifted her chin and lowered her lashes, angling her head in challenge – Clark moved his hand to her rear and stifled a chuckle when she jumped a little in reaction.

Lois widened her eyes in recrimination. Clark lifted his brows and blinked as if to say 'what did I do?'. She shook her head and glanced at Jimmy, then back into Clark's eyes.

"I'll just drop this into copy-editing then," Jimmy turned and looked amused when Clark and Lois both leaned their backs against the wall of the elevator and blinked at him.

"We'll meet you outside." They answered in unison and the second the doors closed behind him, they were in each others arms.

By the time the elevator doors slid open again, two floors later, Lois was tugging on her jacket and flattening her hair, while Clark straightened his tie and pushed his glasses into place. Then he placed one large hand against the doors to stop them from closing and held his other arm out in invitation,

"Miss Lane…"

"Just wait till I get you home Mr. Kent…" She mumbled with a sugary sweet smile as she stepped into the lobby.

_Unknown Location – Middle America:  
_

"Clark Kent…"

The boy had been repeating the words over and over ever since he'd been brought into the room with Chloe. It was starting to irritate Lex somewhat.

"Are the fail-safes in place?"

Mercy joined him at the tempered glass, her reflection side by side with his, "Yes Mister Luthor. If she causes the same kind of surge we should be able to reboot a lot faster than last time."

It had been unexpected, the EMP-like wave Chloe had caused as she tried to absorb energy from different sources. Lex was aware of the risks involved, but he felt they had an understanding. The first time he had made her 'cousin' convulse in pain before her had been enough to make his pet project see sense. And if they could find a way to control the EMP wave it could prove useful in the future he felt. All of the world's electronics and communications frozen in a matter of moments. It was better than the computer virus. But combined with the virus? Well…

"Take the boy to her."

"Sir-" Mercy hesitated, then turned towards him and broached the subject with caution, "Are you certain? He's been erratic at best since his first encounter with her. Even if she finds a way to heal him, there's the chance she may absorb his ability. And if she does that –"

Then she would be able to read everyone's thoughts. Lex smiled a small smile at the thought of her trying to read his mind. How wonderful for her, if she were able to understand the complexities of a mind like his. Somehow he doubted it. But it was a moot point. She was nowhere in the vicinity of being able to control the absorption of abilities from others. The time would come, he had faith in that. But not yet. And if she chose to 'heal' the boy then she would save them the time it would take to create a replacement for him. He was expendable. An asset; granted. But hardly irreplaceable. None of them were. Their very existences were his to give and his to take away. With a click of his fingers or the roll of a dice or on a mere whim…

"Take the boy to her. Tell her his life is in her hands. And monitor the energy levels within the room while he's there to add to the data we've already gathered on her method of energy absorption."

"Yes, Mister Luthor."

"Clark Kent…"

Lex examined the boys dull eyes as he said the name again. What was it he found so fascinating about that name he wondered? It was a connection between the cousins, a connection to Lex too, he supposed. But why that name in particular? What had made him grasp on to it so firmly? Perhaps because Clark Kent had had an 'influence' on all of their lives? Chloe had been devoted to him growing up, Miss Lane – well it appeared, according to his sources, that Miss Lane was more attached to him in adulthood than she had been before. Fascinating. How fate would toy with lives. Clark Kent was a link in a chain of events it seemed. In a way Lex owed him a debt of gratitude. Without Clark Kent, he wouldn't be the great man he now was. No, that wasn't true. Destiny decided the path a man would take, especially in the case of those destined for greatness.

He turned away from the pale faced boy, no longer amused by his thoughts on the subject as the boy repeated the name again;

"_Clark Kent_…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three.**

_Lois Lane's Apartment – Night:_

They were barely through the door before Clark reached for her. It had been one of the longest nights of his life. Making small talk with Jimmy while Lois played footsie under the table with him, the couple of times he'd had to disappear from the Café to deal with sirens, leaving Lois to cover his tracks while, to his great frustration, he discovered Church's patrols had dealt with the sirens by the time he got there.

Then there was the last half hour when Lois decided to rest her hand on his thigh beneath the table…

When she'd made an attempt at sliding it higher, he'd jumped, knocked the edge of the table and spilt his water everywhere. She was lucky as an adult he had control over his heat vision! And what had she done while he'd scrambled to collect paper napkins to clear up the mess, making apologies like an idiot while Jimmy tried to help, and adjusting the glasses that refused to stay on the bridge of his nose more than thirty seconds? She'd leaned back in her chair, tried to stifle laughter behind her hand, and spent the last ten minutes of their meal biting her lip and looking at him with a sideways sparkle-eyed smile. The woman had so much payback coming her way it wasn't even funny. Yet Clark couldn't remember when he'd ever been happier.

She neatly side-stepped away from him, her eyes still sparkling, "You want coffee?"

"No." Clark stalked into the kitchen after her.

"Tea?"

When she turned on her heel and walked backwards, tilting her head to one side and blinking innocently at him, Clark took his glasses off and left them on the edge of the counter without breaking eye contact, "No."

"Juice?"

"No."

"Glass of water?"

"No." He continued stalking her on even, measured steps as she backed into the edge of the sink.

Lois' chin lifted as he closed the distance between them, eyelids heavy and the tip of her tongue damping her lips before she caught the lower one between even teeth and let it slide free, "So, what is it you want?"

Clark laid one large palm on the counter either side of her body and leaned in close. Then he smiled a purposefully meaningful smile. One he knew from the increase of brown in her hazel eyes that she'd interpreted correctly.

Fine boned fingers reached out and slid underneath the lapels of his jacket, up over his shirt and around his neck. She angled her head, focussed her gaze on his mouth, leaned into him. But when her lips were inches from his she stilled and her lashes slowly flickered upwards so she could look deep into his eyes.

And she waited.

Clark looked down at her. Nothing compared to how he felt when he looked at her and knew she was his. That she'd given her heart to him and was willing to trust him with her body. He lifted one large hand and framed the side of her face, his fingertips nudging into silken hair as he watched her lean into his touch and close her eyes. So beautiful. How had he gone so many years without noticing how beautiful she was? He would never understand that, no matter how many times he asked himself the question. Thumb brushing against baby soft skin, he let his gaze rove lovingly over her from the crown of glossy hair to moist parted lips, while he could feel a primal voice inside him stating the claim with a mixture of pride and wonder; _Mine_.

Breathing a deep, silent breath that lifted her breasts against his chest, Lois opened her eyes. When she smiled at him, Clark felt his heart crushing into his lungs until he could barely breathe; the kick of his heartbeat echoing through him like a ripple in a pool of still water. Damn but he loved her. And she was his. What had once seemed like the most unlikely pairing on the planet made complete and utter sense.

When she searched his eyes, her smile grew. As if she could see inside him and knew what he was thinking. Then her fine brows lifted a little, as if to say '_you're mine too, you know._' And he was, heart and soul.

So Clark closed the gap between their mouths and began to kiss her, the hand on the counter moving to slide around her narrow waist and pull her as close to him as their clothing would allow. She tasted sweet and spicy at the same time, and the curves of her body fitted so perfectly to his he could feel her warmth when normally he was immune to both heat and cold. It never ceased to amaze him that he felt that.

When he exhaled, she breathed in. As their mouths moved into an exploratory rhythm, she exhaled, and he breathed in. As if the survival of one was dependent on the other…

There had once been a time when Clark had feared his own strength and the control he would have over it if he got intimate with a woman. Some of his time in the fortress while he went through the education and training that helped make him who he was now, had allayed those fears. Well, in so much as Kryptonian biology lessons compared to High School Earth ones could. But with Lois… and with a tight control over his abilities… and if they took their time…

A low groan formed in his throat. He wanted her. He'd never wanted anyone as much as he wanted Lois. But it was too soon, wasn't it? They hadn't been dating that long. And yes, they both knew how they felt and they were consenting adults and -

Her hands moved in response to his groan, their kiss deepening as she slid back down his chest, under his jacket, and around to his back where she smoothed her palms against him and then grabbed fistfuls of shirt.

"_Clark_…" She exhaled his name on a sigh against his lips.

"I know," He mumbled the words back as his fingers threaded deeper into her hair; his palm cupping the back of her head as he pressed her back against the sink and gently forced her to arch her neck.

"Mmm," The hum of approval vibrated against his mouth and sent a wave of longing through his body that almost flattened him.

He needed to touch her.

Moving back just enough to make room, he moved the arm around her waist and slowly tugged her blouse out of the waistband of her skirt. When she wriggled restlessly to help him, he dragged his mouth from hers and kissed her jawline – blazing a trail down the arch of her neck to nudge the collar of her blouse out of the way with his nose. When the material was loose at her waist, he sneaked his hand underneath to find unbelievably soft skin. Lois was breathing harder above his head. Her body trembled beneath his touch. She was gripping the material of his shirt so tightly in her fists it was stretching tight against his chest and increasing the pressure he already felt on his lungs.

"And why did it take us so long to do this?" Lois muttered.

"I've no idea."

"Seriously – you can kiss like you do and make me feel the way you do when you touch me and you were right under my nose the whole time? Someone, somewhere had a sick sense of humour…"

Clark's mouth curved into a smile against her skin, "Or we're both idiots."

He felt her angle her head, the movement arching her neck a little more for his mouth, "Well – there's that too…"

When he got to her ear, he whispered; "Let's see what we can do about making up for lost time, shall we?"

Moving his hand, he flattened his palm against the inward curve of her back – the place he'd claimed so long ago before he fell in love with her – and then he spread his fingers, flexed them against her skin, and lifted his head to look down at her face.

Lips parted, eyelids heavy, the brown of her eyes several shades darker, a tell-tale flush of pink on her cheeks. And he'd done that to her. Even with superpowers or when floating in space looking down on Earth he'd never felt like a god the way he did knowing he had that effect on her.

When the lights flickered out he frowned at being robbed of the sight of her. Then he stood tall and looked through the nearest window. All the lights were out; the city plunged into darkness. Dammit! _Not now_!

The small hands on his back resisted when he stepped backwards, "Oh no, you don't."

"It's a power cut."

"Yes, but it's hardly the end of the world." He heard the soft tone of frustration to her voice in the darkness, "You're not going anywhere."

The movement of her hands on him made him frown all the harder. Not for the first time, he was torn between his duties as a superhero and his needs as a man. He didn't want to leave her, heaven alone knew he didn't want to stop what they were doing. But –

"Lois, I have to," Freeing his hands, he twisted his arms behind his back to reach for hers, stepping away as he let go, "I need to go to the power station and –"

There was a deep sigh in the darkness, "Listen. Use that super hearing of yours. Is anyone calling for help?"

Already reaching a hand to his tie, Clark tuned in on the city; siphoning through millions of voices for the one that might be calling out for Superman. He'd grown so adept at it, it took a matter of seconds. And his hand stilled.

"Anything?"

Not anything that sounded like any kind of an emergency, no. But there was no reason for him not to find out what the problem was with the power and restore it, "No. But the hospitals –"

"Have back-up generators." Her shadowy form moved, there was the sound of a drawer being opened, the sound of things being moved around, and then there was a bright flare of light as she lit a candle.

In the flickering reflection of the flame, she lifted her chin and he could feel the dark pools of her eyes focussing on him, "You know I would never hold you back if there was the remotest chance of you saving a life."

He did know that.

"Come on," She stepped around him and headed into the hall, "I know you won't settle till you look."

When he followed her she turned and handed him the candle before reaching for the pole and tugging down the ladder to the roof. Then she set the pole back against the wall and stepped upwards, turning the latch and pushing the door up and away.

Clark followed her, the flame of the candle catching in the breeze and flickering out before he'd reached the top, so he set it down. It wasn't needed anyway, there was enough light from the moon for him to see Lois walk through the garden to the edge of the wall, where she looked over her shoulder and waited.

Once he got to her side, she stared out over the city, "How far can you see?"

"Pretty far. More from above."

"Okay," She looked up at him, "So do a flyover if it'll put your mind at ease. I'll still be here."

"You seem certain I won't find anything. How come?"

Smiling a small, secretive smile, she shrugged a shoulder, "Call it a hunch."

Then she turned ninety degrees and reached out a hand to catch the end of his tie and slip it free from his neck, "Go."

After a check to make sure they weren't overlooked from a surrounding building, he did a super spin into the suit.

As he lifted a fisted hand above his head Lois added; "If there aren't any emergencies, the hospitals are fine, they're working on it at the power plant and no-one is in any danger, you have to promise me you won't do anything. You'll come right back."

Clark lowered his arm, "Why?"

"I'll tell you when you get here."

Turning his face a little, he narrowed his eyes, "Lois-"

"Just trust me. And if the world is fine what difference will it make if you fix the power supply a few minutes later?"

He blinked a couple of times as he thought about that. Then he jerked his brows with the realization, "None, I guess."

"Exactly."

Lois watched him lift skywards, the gentle wave of the cape making her smile. She would never get tired of watching him do that. It was still magical to her. When he was out of sight she looked down at the tie in her hand, wrapping it around her fingers and smoothing the pointed end between her thumb and forefinger; chuckling softly at how sappy she'd got since she fell in love with him. Not that she was ever likely to confess it or let people see it – she was a hard-headed investigative reporter - she had a rep to protect! But a little moment of weakness in private wouldn't kill her. If she'd known falling in love with the right guy could make her so happy she mightn't have been so afraid of feeling that emotion and letting him get close. Not that she didn't still have moments of doubt that she could live up to the role of a Superheroes girlfriend, but they were doing okay. So far.

Still smiling, she leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and breathed deep. Moments of quiet contentedness had been few and far between during her lifetime. Practically non-existent at times. She should try and savour them more when they came along. And she'd just made a silent promise to that effect when her hair whispered against her cheeks and she knew she wasn't alone any more.

Opening her eyes, she lowered her chin and lifted a brow in question, "Well?"

"It's quiet." He folded his arms over the 'S' on his chest and studied her face, "How did you know?"

Lifting a forefinger, she pointed it downwards and made a circle in the air in front of her face, "Change back into Clark for a minute."

"Why?" Rocking forwards onto the balls of his feet, he dropped his chin and raised his dark brows over sparkling baby-blues, "I seem to remember when the suit kinda did it for you…"

Cocking her chin at an angle she came back with; "Twirling or flying away?"

When she smirked and held it in place he rolled back onto his heels and grinned at her. A split second later he was back in his office clothes, minus his tie.

And a thought occurred to her, "Where do the clothes you're not wearing go when you do that?"

"I can compress the molecular structure."

Lois waited.

"I can squish them down really small. And then I hide them."

"Course you do," She rolled her eyes at the tone he'd used, "How stupid of me."

"I used to wear the suit under my clothes, but the cape was hard to hide. So when I'd got the -" He made a similar circle to Lois' with his forefinger, "twirly thing, down pat, I practised the squishing part."

Lois shrugged, "Whatever. Do you want to know how I knew about the city being quiet or not?"

"I want to know." He smiled affectionately at her.

And since Lois immediately found herself smiling back, she decided not to call him on the sappy look on his face. Instead she reached for his hand, weaved her fingers through his, and tugged. When they were close together, looking out at the city, she leaned her head closer to his shoulder and shared her secret; "People secretly love power cuts. They make the world turn a little slower while they last…"

When she glanced up at him, he'd lowered his chin and was studying her intently, so she smiled and turned towards him, "With the TV sets turned off, they have to turn to battery radios. If they have one, they'll get music instead of mind-numbing soap opera. If they don't – and even if they have music as a background noise – they're more likely to talk to each other. Sometimes people in the city forget to do that."

Clark's gaze roved over her face while she spoke, and the sight made her lower her voice as she continued; "Families will get out board games and cards – like they used to do in the olden days when the pieces of a board game were made of left over dinosaur parts…"

Clark chuckled quietly, the sound rumbling upwards from low in his chest.

"Then there's the whole candlelight thing," She angled her chin and looked sideways at the sky as if she could hear far off voices, "And if you listen very carefully… you know what you can hear…?"

A long arm circled in front of them and around her waist, turning her and drawing her close to his body, "What can I hear?"

Lois looked up into his eyes as she set her palm over the steady beat of his heart, her voice lowering even further so that the words came out in a conspiratorial whisper, "_Hundreds of babies being made_…"

His smile grew, "Hundreds."

"Mmm-hmm," She nodded firmly and spoke in an octave above a whisper. The kind of lover's tone people used when they were curled up together and the rest of the world didn't exist beyond the person they were with; "Even more people are practising making them. Trust me. It's a statistical fact. And if you interfere with the natural order of things by bringing the power back on before it's meant to kick in… you could be stopping a new generation of the human race from being born."

"Uh-oh."

"Precisely. So, on this particular occasion, by staying here with me – you're saving lives." She nodded sagely, "Lot's of 'em. Even if they're microscopically small at this point in time…"

Untangling his fingers from hers, he framed her face the way he had before he'd kissed her in the kitchen, the deep rumble of his voice filled with a combination of emotion and wonder, "What did I ever do without you?"

"Beats the hell outta me. I'm just working on your superhero/private life balance is all," She shrugged again as she lowered her gaze to where her hand had turned on his chest and her fingers were toying with one of the buttons on his shirt, "There'll be plenty of times when you're needed day and night. But sometimes there has to be times when the world can manage without you. When you have to sit back and let nature take it's course. On those rare occasions – _you're mine_."

Smiling at the words, she lifted her gaze to his, "All mine, Smallville.

Clark nodded, "Yes. Yours. Even when I'm not with you."

Stepping back, she reached up to remove his hand from her face, tangling their fingers again before gently tugging him away from the edge of the rooftop. As they walked back to the open door, she looked over her shoulder and smiled again. And without either of them saying it, she knew what was going to happen. It was the right time and the right place and for the first time in her life; the right guy.

Ridiculously, the thought created a flutter of nervousness in her stomach…

They broke hand contact long enough to go back inside; Clark lighting the candle again with a brief ray of heat vision. Lois held it while he closed the door and put the ladder back in place. And when he turned to her and the flame created a glow on his skin and turned his eyes into twinned pools of darkness with twinkling hints of light, she took his hand again; wordlessly leading him down the hallway to her bedroom.

When he stepped over the threshold, he looked down at her after reaching a hand behind him to close the door, "Are you sure?"

Lois smiled and answered in a soft voice, "Yes I'm sure, you idiot."

"It's not too soon?"

"No," The flutter in her stomach made her ask; "Is it too soon for you?"

"It doesn't feel like it."

"Probably because we've known each for so long."

"That's part of it, but it's more than that."

Lois smiled, "I know."

"You know I would never hurt you."

"I do." She started walking backwards again, gaze fixed on his. It was only when she was close to the bedside cabinet that she broke that intensely mesmerizing gaze. And even then it was only long enough to find a safe place for the candle to rest so she could free her hand.

When she looked back at him, he swallowed hard. He was nervous too? No. Instinctively she knew it was more than that. Her brows lifted and wavered in question as he hesitated before closing the gap between them. And when he let go of her hand and framed her face with both of his, she felt the slight tremor to his touch as his heat warmed her skin.

It took a second before she realized what it might be. He was either worried he might hurt her physically, worried she thought he might hurt her physically; maybe a combination of the two? Lois supposed that might be a worry for a man with his strength and abilities. But it didn't matter what it was. Reaching her hands to either side of his waist, she flexed her fingers in reassurance before speaking with confidence,

"You could never hurt me, Clark. Not just because you love me. But because you have the most caring soul I've ever known." She smiled, "I knew that even when I couldn't tolerate standing in the same room as you."

Clark smiled and slowly shook his head at the same time; his fingertips brushing her hair off her cheeks with an impossible tenderness that confirmed what she already knew, "I'm supposed to be the strongest man on the planet, Lois. But the thought of touching you…"

"Makes you weak at the knees?" She teased.

"Yes," He looked down at her with a vulnerability that made her want to soothe away all the doubts he'd ever had about himself.

"_Welcome to the club_." She whispered back.

"You really have no idea how much I love you."

Moving her hands, she began to undo the buttons of his shirt while still holding his gaze in the soft candlelight, "Show me…"

_Above The Earth's Atmosphere – Early Morning Metropolis Time:  
_

Cape billowing silently behind him, Superman floated weightlessly in space. Below, the planet he loved stood out in the darkness, slowly turning on its axis as wisps of white cloud glittered against a backdrop of shimmering blues and the solid irregular shapes of the land masses. Behind him the rays of the yellow sun poured strength into his body while the increased strength in his heart felt like it was being drawn from the one human being among billions on the planet below who had taken away the last of his doubts about being loved for who and what he was…

Not for the first time, he wondered if all men who loved and were loved in return felt stronger than they ever had before.

From what he knew of Krypton, the human race's capacity for love surpassed the theoretically 'advanced' people of his birth planet. Kryptonians had a unique history all of their own; they'd experienced the pointlessness of wars more devastating than Earth could have survived, explored science to a level beyond human understanding, developed methods of punishment as harsh as any form of hell a human being could ever imagine or fear, and yet had sought the same peace and beauty and understanding in their fellow kind the majority of humanity still wished for, deep inside. Jor-El, his Kryptonian father, had left a message about Earth's people having a capacity for good. He'd been right. His son knew that without a doubt. His father had said he'd sent his only son to Earth to act as a light to guide the way. But his son didn't think he'd anticipated how much the people of Earth would act as a guide – possibly more than he'd managed for them so far.

Kryptonians, from what Clark could glean from the holographs and vast databases of knowledge in the fortress, had considered themselves as 'more' than the people of Earth. Than the people of many planets. While advancing themselves to superior levels, they'd lost a great deal of their humility along the way. It was why some of Jor-El's expectations had gone against everything Clark Kent had wanted and believed in. Only when he understood the loss of humility had he been able to understand why Jor-El felt his son should be a 'ruler'. With the humility his Earth parents had taught him, Clark had decided the closest he would ever get to 'ruling' would be leading by example. By trying to show the people of Earth what they already had within themselves and that every life was precious. If that made him the light to guide the way, it was merely reflected light. He wished Jor-El could have understood that before he died.

In the same way he wished he could have told him, he knew what it must have cost him to send away his only son, while he died beside his wife.

When Lois had talked about the hundreds of babies being created in the middle of a power cut, he'd chuckled at her thought process. While he'd immediately felt the urgent need to fix the problem, she hadn't seen it as a problem to begin with. Granted, it could have been, and maybe they'd just been lucky there hadn't been an emergency somewhere or anyone who felt they could take advantage of the darkness. Maybe the presence of the Church Group's patrols had discouraged the latter. There was no way of knowing. But whatever the reason, there had been a small window of peace, and Lois had made him appreciate it for what it was rather than letting him fix it and take that same peace from millions of others.

In the small hours that hovered between dark and light, when Lois had been asleep in his arms and the lights down the hall had flickered back on and made a line of light appear beneath the bedroom door, Clark had smiled down at her and thought about the lives she'd helped him save. The lives that hadn't started yet. And after what they'd shared together, he allowed himself, for the first time in a very long time, to wonder what it would be like to create a life. With her. A child created with the kind of passion he'd never experienced before. The thought had caught him completely off-guard. He'd accepted that there was a very slim chance, if any, of it ever happening. But for the first time he truly felt the sense of loss that came with that knowledge. How could he ask her to give that up for him?

So he had lain there and waited for the dawn to break beyond the windows, where the city had been washed clean by the rain that had sounded while he'd made love with Lois for the first time. He'd listened to her steady breathing, felt the softness of her skin against his, held her close and safe and thought about how amazing they'd been together and how right it had felt and how, as she cried out his name, he'd known he couldn't live without her. And then his throat had tightened at the thought of not being able to give her something that another man could. All the things he could do. All the things he felt when he was with her. No matter how many times he showed her how he felt the way he had that night. It didn't feel like enough. She deserved more.

But instead of talking it through and letting her make a choice, when she'd stirred and blinked him into focus with a sleepy, incredibly sexy smile; he'd leaned in and kissed her awake. And made love with her again.

Then he'd left her to do a sweep of the city and flown high into the sky, through layer after layer of clouds and higher still. Telling himself he was just doing what he normally did and checking the planet. But when nothing demanded his immediate attention, he admitted the truth. He was scared of losing her. Not because of the danger he put her in by knowing his secret and being close to him, or by any danger she placed herself in. But by being less than she deserved.

He'd closed his eyes then, felt the strength from the sun filling his body, and had reached out with his heart to draw strength from how much she loved him. And for some reason he'd thought about Krypton. Probably because he was facing up to what being Kryptonian on Earth meant for his future with Lois. Then he'd thought about the child they might never have and he thought about his Kryptonian parents sending their only son to a planet galaxies away. He'd placed himself in his father's shoes in a way he never could before. Had replaced his mother with Lois. And he understood. He knew what it had cost his father to send his son to safety and die with the woman he loved.

Clark knew he would have made the same choice with his own son, in the same situation. He couldn't begin to imagine what he would have been prepared to do to save Lois, too. But whatever it had taken, he knew instinctively his father would have done the same for Lara. If there'd been a way he'd have found it. And he'd have let her go. He'd have _made her go_. He'd have been stronger than Clark was when he thought about letting Lois go.

He couldn't do it. It was selfish beyond belief. But he couldn't do it. Even though he was asking her to give up the life she could have, and the life she could bring into the world. He would do anything to save her life, but he wouldn't give her the one she deserved? He hated himself for that.

Drawing in as much strength as he could from the sources behind and below, he dipped forwards and headed for home; determination gathered around him like a shield as he forced the pain he felt deeper inside.

As he broke through the barrier between space and the Earth's atmosphere, he knew he had to force himself to do it. Lead by example, that was the decision he'd made and he had to stand by that. A man who loved a woman as much as he loved Lois - the woman who had demonstrated the depth of her feelings for him when they were as close as two people could be – would trust in her and believe in her and respect her enough to make her own decision.

Upper level clouds gave way to finer, lighter clouds with glimpses of the ocean below as he reminded himself he knew Lois. If he made the decision for her she would give him hell in a way only Lois could. It would hurt her as much as him never telling her and staying with her out of selfishness.

Skimming low across the water, with his reflection a blur of colour below him, he wondered how one night had made such a difference. How he was able to think things through so much clearer than he had before. What had made him think about everything so long and so hard and so far into the past and the future.

The answer came to him as he saw Metropolis in the distance…

_Daily Planet Conference Room – Morning:_

Lois, Clark, Jimmy and Perry were in a closed door session. Lois stole yet another glance at Clark while he rubbed at a point on his neck that seemed to be bothering him and aimed a warm glance her way over the rim of his glasses in reply. If she'd thought the sight of him was addictive before they slept together, the new-found knowledge of what he could do to her body made looking at him an imperative at the cellular level. It was that whole 'mate with the strongest of the species' thing gone wilder than ever.

When her mind replayed images of them together, she curled her toes in her shoes and chewed on her lower lip as she shimmied a little on her chair. Dear god, it was the longest lead in to a subject in the history of editor-kind! Get to the point already.

Lois wondered if she was sitting close enough to Clark to get mischievous with her foot again…

"A key member of Intergang's been arrested, made a deal… and is gonna testify."

Okay. That got her attention, "Who is it?"

Perry aimed a remote at the TV behind him and a grainy video of a hooded man being led out of a car by heavily-armed cops into a government building, played on-screen while he added; "We don't know. The D.A.'s calling him Mr. X. Word is, Intergang's been killing world leaders for decades, making it look like accidents, and this fella's gonna finger their number one assassin."

When the video played out he hit the remote again, set it down, rested his palms on the gleaming conference table and leaned in, "Now I want the story on this guy, so by the time he takes the stand, the Planet has the headlines - who he is, where he came from, what he's gonna say…"

Then he looked at each of them in turn and nodded, "All right? Go get him."

They all pushed their chairs back, Jimmy and Perry heading for the door as Lois jotted notes on a small pad of paper and Clark put his jacket back on, "Lois… about last night…"

She flashed him a grin, "I know. I still can't believe it. The best sex of my life was standing right under my nose? Cruel twist of fate that one, if you ask me…"

The teasing tone and accompanying wink went down like a lead balloon, "And I'll say it again… it wasn't _sex_, it was-"

Her tone softened, "I know. It was. In every sense of the word."

When she felt heat rising in her body, she dragged her gaze forcibly from his and headed for the door, "Come on, Smallville. Work to be done…"

_Daily Planet Foyer – Same Time:_

Diana and Rolf walked across the shining art-Deco tiles and got into the elevator alone. When the doors slid shut, Rolf pulled the tracker out of his pocket and looked down at it, "Superman is definitely in the building."

"Be still my beating heart." Diana smiled as she watched the numbers light up above the door.

_Daily Planet Bullpen – Morning:_

Clark followed Lois to their desks, reaching a hand up to rub at his neck again and drastically searching for the right words to bring up a way to make Lois understand he needed to talk to her about something important. Then he heard some kind of sonic bleep – like a radar marking a target. It was getting louder. So he stopped at the side of his desk and looked around him, zeroing in on the sound through the babble of the people.

A woman's voice said; "Get the camera ready. Superman might be disguised as anyone, so whoever the tracker says we tagged - get it on film."

Clark's eyes widened. He'd been tagged? How had he been tagged? When had he been tagged? The hand halfway to his itching neck stilled in mid-air and he looked down at his palm as the realization came to him. He'd been tagged for that long? Where in hell had they followed him to?! Had they followed him to Lois' place?

"Clark?" Lois' voice lowered to ask the question; a frown of concern on her face, "What is it?"

But before he could say anything, the elevator doors slid open and Rolf, camera on shoulder, followed Diana as she got out; holding the tracker in front of her. People stopped and stared at the sight of the familiar face from their TV screens as Clark saw her sweep through the enormous room like royalty, following the tracker's low frequency beeps through the crowd…

He frantically looked around him for an escape route as she got closer and the beeps came faster and louder.

"Go. _Now_." He didn't know how she knew, but she knew. And Lois was already on her feet and standing in front of him while he made a quick check to see who was looking before super speeding away.

Perry wandered over beside Lois as Diana got to them, "Is that who I think it is?"

Diana frowned at the tracker and walked around them, "Wait. He's moved."

"Who's moved?" Lois asked as she got in the woman's way.

But Diana simply stepped around her; her gaze fixed on the tracker as she stepped back up the stairs towards the hall that ran past the elevators, "Got him. He's right –"

Superman stepped around the corner and stood in front of her.

"- here." She smiled up at him, "Superman. Heard about my story, did you?"

"Afraid so." He answered tightly.

"Well there goes my surprise." Reaching up to tuck a loose pendent into the neck of her blouse, Diana spoke to the room with a bright smile, "Hi everyone - I'm Diana Stride - and Top Copy is doing a tribute to Superman."

There was applause as she made a grand gesture toward him while Superman continued staring at her.

"We know he has a lot of great friends here at the Planet and I want to interview all of you. I had hoped it would be a surprise," She smiled over at him, "- but I guess there's no keeping secrets from the Man of Steel. So. Let's get started, shall we? Who wants to talk about Superman?"

Rolf was practically mobbed by the staff while Diana lifted a brow, "And Superman, I can count on you for an interview soon?"

Glancing down at the tracker in her hand, Superman frowned, "Careful, whatever you've got in your hand…"

All of a sudden the tracker began to smoke.

"…looks like it has a short." He reached for it as she started to toss it from hand to hand, "Let me take that, before you get burned."

As he took it, he looked her straight in the eye with a completely deadpan expression. There was a long moment of tense silence. Then Diana smiled and turned away; "Okay, whose first?"

When he was sure the woman was occupied, Superman took a step back, his gaze shifting briefly to Lois who was giving Diana the kind of look that said she was about five minutes away from demonstrating her marital arts skills. He looked down at the tracker again. How long would it take for Diana to get another one? Then he felt the skin on the back of his neck tingling again. How long would it take for whatever it was she'd tagged him with to wear off?

His gaze strayed to Lois again as she looked at him. And in the silent language they had, he glanced upwards, then back into her eyes. She nodded almost imperceptibly so he knew she'd got the message. Then he stepped away from the crowd and slipped back down the hall and into the stairwell…

Less than five minutes later Lois met him beneath the slow turning globe on the roof, "What the hell was that all about?"

Clark sighed heavily, "She tagged me."

"I'm assuming we're not talking about the '_you're it_' version…" When he held out the disabled tracker she took it from him and frowned down at it, "Thought not. When did she tag you?"

"Remember the two engine fire?"

"Yes. That was her?"

"She threw herself off the balcony of a penthouse that was on fire," He nodded, involuntarily reaching a hand to the back of his neck, "I'm guessing she put something on me when she had her hands behind my neck on the way back up."

Lois blinked a couple of times, "Well, you gotta give it to her for having the gahones to make the leap. There's no way she could have known for sure you'd catch her."

"She must have known I was in town or waited till she saw me in the sky."

Stepping closer, she leaned around him and removed his hand so she could look at his neck, "There's nothing there. There's no way she put something under your skin. Not without a hunk of green rock. And you'd have known if it was nearby – right?"

He nodded again; "Within seconds. Hurts like hell."

"Something radioactive then? In Earth terms."

"Maybe," He frowned, "If it is let's hope it's something weak."

They both knew he was referring to their night together. But Lois shrugged it off; literally, "So how do we get it off you? 'Cos I bet she'll have a spare one of these somewhere."

Clark looked at the tracker when she waved it in the air between them, "Probably. But I don't know if I can get it off. I'll have to go to S.T.A.R. and ask for help."

"Okay. I'll keep an eye on the female version of Mark David Chapman." She turned away.

"Lois?" When he saw her stop and turn around, he took a deep breath; "I don't think we should see each other for a while till this blows over. Not outside of work…"

"That's a joke, right?" She placed her hands on her hips; the move straining the buttons of her jacket across her breasts as a loose strand of the hair twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck slipped free and whipped against her cheek in the wind, "Wanna tell me why?"

"If she can track me, she can track me to your apartment. She might already have tracked me there," He stepped closer on carefully measured steps and kept his voice purposefully low and even, "If she finds out we're involved you'll be front page news."

The green in her eyes glinted, "Any newspaper in this city prints a headline claiming I'm Superman's girlfriend better do it with rock solid proof, or I'll sue the ink off their pages. To get proof she'll need photographic evidence. And to get that she'll have to get close enough to use a telephoto lens. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't one of the fringe benefits of dating a Superhero the fact he can hear and see something like that from at least a couple of football fields away?"

The fact she'd used the 'd' word for the first time when they were in danger of having an argument made Clark sigh again. Even if she'd used it in reference to Superman it was a huge step for her but; "We can't take a chance, Lois."

"You mean you _won't_ take a chance," She threw back, "We're s'posed to just hide until she gets bored or that crap on your neck wears off?"

"We already hide."

"The hell we do!" She scowled at him, the green in her eyes flashing brighter so he knew she was losing her temper, "We don't flaunt it in work but the rest of the time we're holding goddamn hands when we walk down the street, or we're making out in elevators where we could get caught or we're being as subtle as a rhino wearing a tutu in front of Jimmy so he ends up dropping innuendos a two year old could figure out! I'm not being forced into hiding by psycho TV lady!"

"Lois, up until two minutes ago you couldn't even say we were dating out loud!" Clark knew the rise in tone of his voice was a mistake the second her hands dropped from her hips and she marched back towards him. So he softened his voice, "If anyone finds out you're dating-"

"Or having really great _sex _with," She quirked her brows.

"If anyone finds out," He frowned, "It doesn't just change our lives – it puts you in danger. Superman's enemies can use you against him."

After a brief moments pause, Lois pursed her lips and scowled at him, "I hate it when you talk about yourself in the third person."

The change in tone brought him a step closer, where he lifted a hand and tucked the stray lock of hair behind her ear, "We'll see each while we're working. But even then we're gonna have to be careful. You knew when you got involved with me that we'd have to be careful."

"If she finds out who you are, we're screwed." She admitted.

"Yes. We are."

Long lashes flickered as she searched each of his eyes in turn, her tone softer as the gravity of the situation sank in, "This is serious, isn't it?"

"Yes. It is." There was no point sugar-coating it, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Doesn't mean I'm not sorry."

"You heat whammied her scanner, didn't you?" She held it up again.

And Clark nodded, "Yup."

"Well, next time? Leave a really big blister on her hand."

"You know I'm not gonna do that," He smiled gently at her.

"Well, I'm telling you – she makes our lives any more difficult than she already has and I get an excuse to hit her? I'm leaving a bruise."

"I promise to come bail you out."

_Unknown Location – Middle America:_

"Clark Kent…"

Chloe glanced up at the surveillance camera in the corner of the room, then focussed her gaze on the boy as he looked at her with dull eyes. He was like an old fashioned record that had got stuck, or a computer program on a loop, but what worried her was the fact he kept repeating Clark's name. If there was the remotest chance he was doing the impossible, she needed to know before he did the inconceivable.

So she leaned her forearms on her knees and purposefully made her voice soft and soothing; "Clark Kent? Do you remember him?"

It was impossible he could. Clones didn't carry the memories of the person their initial DNA strand came from.

He blinked blankly at her.

Chloe frowned at the words she was about to use. It was inhumane the way Luthor treated his foot soldiers. Always had been. One of the many reasons his trial had focussed on crimes against humanity. Because regardless of whether or not they had free will or cognitive thought, the clones were living, breathing human beings. So speaking to a teenage boy with a pre-conditioned code turned her stomach;

"G-19. Report status: Clark Kent."

The boys' head jerked back a little as it he'd felt a sudden surge of energy that charged him up. Then he repeated the name with more conviction; "Clark Kent."

She was about to press him when he added; "Smallville."

A shiver ran down her spine, "G-19. What is the connection between Clark Kent and Smallville?"

The question was only asked because she was convinced he didn't know, but she glanced at the camera again anyway. Maybe she should consider finding a way to short circuit it? But if she did that and what she did was caught on a screen somewhere Luthor would know…

"Clark Kent. Smallville. Kansas. Lois Lane," The boy jerked his head slightly to the side, "Clark Kent. Lois Lane. Lois Lane cousin of Chloe Sullivan; location unknown. Hold on tight Lois. Fly fast. Is that a Renoir over there? Probably. She's in the room. Hand. Hand. Inverted 'V'. Coat of arms. Clark Kent. Clark Kent. Clark Kent…"

Chloe reached out her hand and set it on his where it rested on the arm of the metal chair. She didn't send much, just a little in the hope of soothing him. He _was _like a computer stuck on a loop. And from the little she could glean having been given his activation code, he was recalling what he had taken from Lois' mind when she'd been kidnapped. The Renoir would probably have been enough on it's own to place her at-

She swallowed hard. No, she mustn't think about him. It still hurt too much.

"Martha Kent. Baby. Secret. Clark Kent."

_What_?! Her hand snapped back towards her midriff. How could he know that? She didn't think Lois knew. So where had it come from?

The boy straightened his head, looked blankly into the air at a point somewhere over her right ear and from the way he dropped his shoulders a little, Chloe knew he had begun to shut down again; "Clark Kent."

It's alright. I'm right here…" Not knowing why, she instinctively felt the need to whisper the name, "_Ryan_…"

He didn't respond.

So Chloe examined his face from the short brown hair on his head, to the long lashes that framed his lifeless eyes, to the slight gap between his lips where he continued to take silent, even, steady breaths – as if he'd been programmed that way. Then she looked into his eyes again. Was the impossible happening? Every brain cell she possessed said it couldn't be.

But her gut instinct had doubts.

"Clark Kent…"

_Diana Stride's Office, Metropolis – Evening:_

Sitting with Rolf, having a drink, Diana planned out her next move after a long, _long _day of listening to people at the Daily Planet gush moronically about Superman, "Maybe he works there, as someone else."

"Ah." Rolf nodded, "Your secret identity theory."

"It makes sense." A lamp on her desk blinked on, then off, then on again.

And Rolf stared at it, "Must be the bulb."

"I'll get it." Her tone had changed; was sharper all of a sudden, "You go home. We'll take a run at it again in the morning with the new tracker."

"But –"

"I want to be alone, Rolf. Take a hint."

Tossing back the last of the amber liquid in his glass, Rolf set it down on the edge of her desk, "I'll see you in the morning."

The door had barely closed behind him when her computer screen came on, "Diana. You are looking well."

Diana stared at the heavily accented man, "Cut the flattery… Whatever it is you want, you can forget it. I retired."

"A hiatus. You don't retire when you work for Intergang."

"Well like I said, whatever it is, I'm not interested."

"I think you will be."

On the screen his shadowy image was replaced by the grainy video of a hooded man being led out of a car by the cops. Diana calmly watched it through to the end, swirling the contents of her glass in circles, "Nice hood. Couture?"

"He's one of ours, turning State's Evidence. The District Attorney is calling him Mr. X. But you know him…"

A new image appeared on the screen of Diana and a gruffly handsome man in a suit while the voice continued; "…as Michael Disanto. Your former partner."

Diana stared at the screen, hiding her shock.

"In one week, he's going to tell the Grand Jury everything he knows - how we plucked you out of nowhere and made you a world famous journalist. So you could meet the rich… the powerful… and kill them for us…"

She set her glass down, "All right, where is he?"

_Centennial Park, Metropolis – Evening:_

Lois and Clark walked along a shrub-lined path to the café at the other end, not that Clark was happy about it, "I'm not really comfortable with this, Lois."

"Why?" Lois looked sideways at him, still angry that they had to keep a low profile. Not that she wanted to hold his hand and skip merrily along the path together, but not being able to touch him at all, and knowing she wasn't going to spend the night with him – well, it was like being given a taste of Rocky Road and then being told you could never have it again. She'd never wanted Rocky Road so bad, "Mayson works in the D.A.'s office and she's a friend of yours, so she might tell us something about Mr. X. I don't see the problem."

Clark grimaced, "Calling her a friend is a bit of a stretch. I just know her from some of the trials I've covered."

"So, what's the big deal then?"

They'd gone another few steps before he answered, "I think she likes me."

"Doesn't everybody like Clark Kent? It was always one of your most irritating qualities to be honest…" Then the penny dropped, she stopped, and turned to look up at him, "Wait a minute. You mean _likes you_, likes you?"

When she laughed at his expression, he stepped in closer and lowered his voice, "Making fun of that would have more of a punch if _you _didn't like me as much as you do…"

Good point. But it was too good not to have fun with it, "So just because she's in love with you?" She crossed her hands over her heart and looked up at the trees, "Because she wants to write your name in a little heart with hers… because she wants to kiss you and hug you and-"

"It's not funny."

Lois laughed softly as she looked at him, "It's amusing _me_."

"I'm so glad." He smirked and started walking again.

So Lois fell into step beside him, "Oh come on. You don't think it bothers me, do you? What am I supposed to do? Stamp you with 'Property of Lois Lane'. That'll help with the whole secret affair thing. Maybe you should flirt with her some to throw your stalker off my trail…"

Clark lifted a hand and rubbed his head in frustration, "Lord give me patience…"

Lois stopped at the entrance to the café and studied him with narrowed eyes, "Anything you want to tell me about Mayson Drake before I meet her?"

"Like what?"

"Like how you know she likes you," She folded her arms, "Because you tend to be fairly oblivious to that kind of thing until something happens to make it blatantly obvious."

"Lois-"

"Clark?"

When Lois turned to find the source of the voice she found herself looking at a very pretty blond haired woman. Who was smiling at Clark a tad too warmly for Lois' liking. Looking her over from head to foot Lois decided she didn't like her. Too neat. Too small town pretty. And considering where Clark came from…

The second she held out a hand towards him, Lois stepped in and shook it firmly as she smiled widely, "Hi. Mayson Drake? Lois Lane. I'm Clark's partner."

She didn't add that it was at the Daily Planet, the way she normally did. And she did it on purpose too…

The woman grimaced before Lois let go of her hand, "Nice to meet you, Lois. Of course I've read your articles. That piece on 'Why The World Needs Superman' was amazing."

"Thanks."

When she turned towards Clark, Lois set a hand to her back and steered her through the door, "Well I dunno about you, but I'm caffeine deprived."

The way Lois saw it, if she wasn't allowed to touch him then no-one else was either. She glanced up at Clark and saw him stifling a smile as he pushed his glasses into place. So when he looked at her she narrowed her eyes in warning.

Fifteen minutes after they were seated, Lois was reading notes while Clark fidgeted beside her and Mayson smiled at him as she stirred her coffee.

"I'm really sorry, guys," By 'guy's' she apparently meant Clark, because she'd barely made eye-contact with Lois, "I can't give on this one."

"Look," Lois waited until she made eye contact, then smiled tightly; her façade slipping, "- we wouldn't be irresponsible with the information. We'd hold it till the day he testified."

"This isn't a matter of trust." She looked at Clark again, "I have orders. And these orders come from way up."

Clark pushed his glasses into place, "We've heard the rumours about the assassin Mr. X is going to ID… there's nothing at all you can give us?"

When he tacked on a weak smile, Mayson practically melted at his feet. Lois rolled her eyes. And when the staring at each other went on a little too long, she kicked Clark under the table. She knew it wouldn't hurt him, but at least it got him to notice she was there long enough to shoot her a narrow eyed frown of recrimination. One she answered with another tight smile.

"Well. All right," Mayson got their attention, "But I shouldn't even be saying this. Apparently, the assassin is famous."

Lois' gaze fell on the cellphone sitting at the edge of Mayson's open purse beside her chair. She tapped her toe under the table while she considered it. Then she looked up at Mayson smiling sweetly at Clark and made a decision. So she purposefully nudged her pen off the edge of the table with her pinkie, and leaned down to get it.

"How famous?" Clark asked as he took notes of his own.

"Really famous."

Lois reached for the cellphone; her hand wavering over it for a second…

While Mayson added in an apologetic voice; "And if I say another word, I'll be looking for a new career."

"I really appreciate this, Mayson." Clark said, "Thanks."

'_I really appreciate this Mayson_' Lois mouthed sarcastically as she grabbed the small phone.

"Lois?"

Nudging it under the cuff of her jacket, she reappeared with a bright smile and a wave of her pen, "Yes!"

"We should get going."

"We should!" She rapidly gathered her things together and stood up, "Thanks, Mayson. Lovely to meet you. Clark talks about you all the time! Bye now!"

She headed for the door, dropping the phone out of her sleeve into her other hand and stowing it in her purse.

Clark frowned at her back as she left, then looked down at Mayson, "I'll uhhh… I'll call you."

"I'd like that."

He caught up with Lois outside, "I talk about her all the time? Thanks. That helped. When I said I'd call her I think she took it the wrong way…"

"You said you'd call her?" Lois looked at him incredulously, "In those exact words – _I'll call you_?"

Clark looked uncomfortable as they walked back up the path, "Yes."

"You really are oblivious when it comes to women, aren't you? You don't say that to a woman unless it means you're calling her because you _like her_."

"I've said it to her before and she never took it the wrong way," He aimed a glare at her, "But then no-one had ever told her I _talk about her all the time_ before I said it."

Lois rolled her eyes.

"I landed you in the end, didn't I? I'm not that oblivious."

"Mmm-hmm," Lois pursed her lips and nodded, then turned and faced him, "When did I start falling in love with you?"

"What?" He blinked.

"How long was I in love with you before you knew?"

He blinked some more, "I have no idea."

Lois patted the centre of his chest, "And that's one of the many reasons I love you. If you were less oblivious to these things, you'd have figured it out faster and if you'd figured it out before I was ready to admit it, I'd have fought you tooth and nail. But you didn't figure it out. _Oblivious_. Like I said. So Mayson must have come on real strong for you to have got the hint. But you're too nice to just shoot her down, right?"

"Well-"

"Right. And it's because you're a good guy you're gonna call Mayson like you said you would. When you do, you'll tell her you're seeing someone. And you'll tell her that someone isn't threatened by the other women in your life but she has a look, don't touch policy. Got it?" She smirked and held it in place for a long moment.

Clark folded his arms and stared down at her for the same amount of time, then; "Still mad at me for not seeing you outside of working hours, right?"

"_Oooohhh_…" Lois jerked her chin at his arms and looked around them with wide eyes, "Careful. Familiar pose you got goin' on there…"

Sighing heavily, Clark unfolded his arms, "We talked about this."

"Yes, we did," She frowned up at him, then lowered her voice, "But it doesn't make the lack of physical contact any easier. Okay?"

Responding to another, shorter smirk with a gentle smile, Clark lowered his voice to a matching octave, "For me either."

Her shoulders relaxed as she sighed and looked around them again before starting back up the path, "In my next life I'm falling in love with a librarian."

Clark chuckled as he fell into step beside her, "You'd eat him alive."

"But he'd die a happy, _happy_ man…"

_Lois Lane's Apartment – Same Time:_

The man carefully set the mat back in place and made sure sensors on the running boards at the bottom of each wall were switched on. Then he looked around him to make sure everything was exactly where it was when he broke in.

Content, he left the apartment and quietly closed the door behind him.

Outside on the side walk he tossed his empty rucksack over one shoulder and blended into the city like millions of others; stopping at a news-stand to pick up the evening edition of the Daily Planet and smiling at the girl who took his money, "Hi there."

She smiled back, "Hi."

"I'm new in town, can you recommend anywhere I can grab a bite?"

"There's a nice Italian place a couple of blocks over."

"Don't suppose I can persuade you to join me?" He held out a hand when she didn't seem opposed to the idea, "I'm Joe…"


	4. Chapter 4

_First up a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has left reviews - I really appreciate it! And I just wanted to apologize for the confusion of re-listing this story. Haven't quite got the hang of the fanfiction way to edit chapters once they're posted without deleting them... I haven't abandoned this story either, and I'm sorry it has taken so long to update it. Hopefully I can get new chapters uploaded a little quicker now that Smallville has ended for the season and I don't have the distraction of plots that have sometimes had me wanting to poke forks in my eyes. Can't tell you how glad I am I started these stories post season seven. Thanks again for the encouragement and support guys!!!_

**Chapter Four.**

_Woods Outside Metropolis – Night:_

Dressed in dark clothes, Lois, Clark and Jimmy skulked through the brush while Clark silently fumed. He couldn't believe what she'd done. If Superman hadn't been called to the other side of the planet to deal with a flood, Clark could have been at the meeting with Perry when it was discussed. But apparently he still couldn't take his eyes off Lois for five minutes without her doing something he wouldn't be happy about.

And the silent part of the fuming was becoming increasingly difficult, "I still can't believe you stole her cellphone."

"See, now that's where you're wrong. I hesitated because I thought it might be stealing, then I realized I could get the information I wanted and mail it back anonymously. Morally remaining on solid ground. It's only theft if I keep it." Lois spoke in a stage whisper, "It was in plain sight. If we were cops I wouldn't even have needed a search warrant."

"Except we're not cops, we're _reporters_."

They crouched down as Lois pulled out a set of binoculars, "And I'm the kind of reporter who doesn't wait for stories to come to me. I go looking for _them_. I do whatever it takes to get them. You know that."

Jimmy added his two cents worth as he looked down the lens of his camera and ran off a couple of shots, "You gotta admit, C.K., it was pretty smart getting those phone numbers then tracing them to the addresses."

"Yeah, brilliant." Clark smiled sarcastically, "We now know where Mayson's maid lives, where she does her dry cleaning, her mechanic, her favourite place for Chinese food, her secretary, two lawyers, a judge –"

"- and Mr. X." Lois smiled with satisfaction below her binoculars, "I think we just found the safe house."

When Clark lowered his glasses to take a look, she nudged him, jerked her head meaningfully at a distracted Jimmy and waved the binoculars under his nose. So he took them with a frown and pretended to look through them, then handed them back and lowered his glasses to look properly. His telescopic vision revealed a phalanx of armed guards around a small ranch house next to a large pond...

"I don't see anyone wearing a T-Shirt with Mr. X. written on it.."

"Which is why we need to get closer."

They all stood up from their crouched positions, Clark pointing out; "Lois, if it's who you think it is, he's not being guarded by the Three Stooges."

"No. He's not."

They whipped around in unison to find three men in black pointing guns at them. Clark sighed heavily. _Typical_.

"No, don't tell me," He glared sideways at Lois, "This wasn't part of the plan."

_Another Part Of The Woods – Same Time._

Two other men took over patrol duty, passing quietly through the trees and disappearing down a narrow path as a dark figure dropped silently to the ground. Diana looked up at the moonlight, then moved into position. Crouching down, she took a small backpack off her shoulders and reached into it for the components of a miniature grenade launcher. Slotting everything together with an efficiency that demonstrated skill and familiarity; she lined up the trajectory, loaded it, and set a digital timer. Then she moved down the path, silent as a panther. When she got to the end of the pond, she tucked her hair into a tight fitting hood and slipped into the water; disappearing under the surface.

_Safe House – Same Time._

Lois, Clark and Jimmy were marched to the house with their hands behind their heads.

"I'm too young and boyish to go to jail." Jimmy complained.

"Stick with Lois, she'll find plenty of ways to take years off your life." Clark replied.

"Doesn't look like getting them to talk is gonna be a problem." Said one of the men behind them.

Lois was glaring at Clark when he heard something, the way he lifted his chin changing her expression. It sounded like... he narrowed his eyes... a digital timer counting down? There was a hollow popping noise and the men behind them spun round with their weapons as Clark dropped his hands, grabbed Lois and Jimmy, and pushed them to the ground. A window above their heads shattered and smoke started to fill the room. Then pandemonium broke loose both inside and outside the house as Clark lifted his head to look around.

When he looked down at Lois she nodded and scrambled to her feet, "Jimmy, get some shots of this!"

_Rear Of Cabin – Same Time._

Diana lay flat on her belly in the brush, twenty feet away, aiming a rifle kitted with a silencer and telescope. When two plain-clothes agents hustled Michael Disanto out of the back door, she took a breath, held it, and squeezed off two shots in quick succession. Disanto hit the ground.

Slinging the rifle strap diagonally across her body, she got to her feet, and disappeared into the night as Superman landed beside Disanto and his bodyguards; the felled Witness moaning on the ground.

"He has a vest on." One of the agents informed him.

Superman lifted him and slung the man's arm around his shoulders as he spoke, "I'm taking him to Metropolis General. Meet me there."

Lois and Jimmy appeared around the corner as Superman took to the sky; Jimmy's camera frantically clicking. Agents were barking into walkie-talkies, dark clad men racing into the forest with torches held above their handguns as they searched for the assassin.

Jimmy lowered his camera as he followed Lois to the edge of the forest, "Where's C.K.?"

"Probably calling in a report to the cops about phone theft," When she spied something gleaming in the mud next to the edge of the pond, she bent over and picked it up; rubbing off the mud with her thumb as she looked at a trail of footprints leading from the water towards the scrub at the edge of the forest.

"You got something?"

"Maybe. Take some shots of those footprints, would you?" While he did, she held the object in her hand up to the moonlight. A crescent charm. Then she looked down at the footprints; small – like a woman's? Her eyes widened as she looked at the charm again and folded her fingers tightly over it. She knew who it belonged to...

"Jimmy, we gotta go."

"What about Clark?"

"He'll catch up with us."

_Metropolis General Hospital – Night._

Superman walked along the corridor with a Doctor, oblivious to the nurses huddling in groups while talking to each other in hushed voices interspersed with giggles and nudges.

"...went straight through the vest..."

Superman nodded, "Probably some kind of armour piercing bullet."

"One bullet is dangerously close to the heart. I can't operate till he stabilizes."

"So he can't be moved." They headed towards the end of the corridor while Superman considered the security risks involved with guarding the witness.

"Not unless you want to do the assassin's job for him."

When the doors slid open and they rounded a corner, they found it jammed with news crews and reporters; harassed cops trying to control the circus. There was a sudden hush as Superman stepped into the fray with a palm raised for silence, grim determination written all over his face.

"I'd like to make a statement." The uncharacteristic announcement made all the cameras and lights turn his way, "Tonight an attempt was made on the life of a State's witness. I want to say to anyone out there thinking of making a second attempt..."

_Diana Stride's Office – Same Time._

"...I am now personally protecting this witness... and if anything happens to him, I will hunt his killers." He looked directly into the lens, "Relentlessly."

Diana switched off the TV and poured another drink. She'd allowed herself to get comfortable in the life that had been created for her, but years of living undercover and the temptation of earthy pleasures had made her too relaxed, too ambivalent. She'd lost her edge. The waiting had created a false sense of security. She knew there weren't plans to deal with Superman in the immediate future, hence her decision to exploit him for her TV Show, but if it came down to a case of the prestige associated with -

The light on her desk switched off then on, the TV flickering back to life and a familiar dark silhouette appearing.

"I take it you watched the news." Diana swirled the amber liquid in her glass while leaning back in her chair.

"Not like you to miss." He answered in his heavy accent.

"I didn't miss."

"But he's still alive. And now you've turned Superman into a bodyguard." He tutted, "My, how your standards have slipped. I'm disappointed in you. Maybe I should hand the assignment to Lashina..."

Diana's eyes narrowed, "I was never particularly good at biding my time. Or at letting someone else do something I can do better, given less antiquated equipment."

"So what do you suggest?"

"There's been a rumour about a substance that can weaken his defences... a meteor rock from his home planet. Can you get it?"

"Why?"

She set her glass down, "I'll kill Superman if I have the rock. I know of an underground Scientist who can help me amalgamate it with the cell samples I have."

"You still have your collection."

"I never stopped collecting," She smiled, "As you said; I didn't retire - I took a hiatus. We are what we are."

"It was only a matter of time before you returned to the fold. I will get what you need," He paused, "It is good to have you back, my child."

"I don't want Lashina here."

"If you kill the Kryptonian there will be no need. She would, however, revel in your failure. She has not forgotten your betrayal."

"It was a long time ago. I serve the greater cause."

"It is as it should be."

She said the words she hadn't said in over a decade, "And shall be evermore."

"Until all world's shall end."

As the transmission ended, Diana breathed deep; "Amen."

_Daily Planet – Late Night._

"What about the witness?"

"Under armed guard." Lois was sitting at her computer while Clark looked at the crescent shaped pendant she'd given him, "And you found this where?"

"On the ground beside the pond. I think our assassin is Diana Stride."

Clark held up the pendant, "Because of _this_?"

"You know, you get this tone in your voice when you're humouring me and you think I don't hear it - but I do." She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, narrowing her eyes in thought before she sighed heavily, "This is still about the stupid phone, isn't it?"

"You shouldn't have taken it."

"I _borrowed_ it."

"Without permission and without Mayson knowing you were taking it. There's another word for that."

"There would be another word for it if I _kept it_. I've no intention of keeping it."

Clark took a half step towards her then shook his head and rocked back, "Lois, you're better than this. You don't need to steal to get to the bottom of a story."

"If I hadn't _borrowed_ the phone we wouldn't have been there when the witness was shot," Unfolding her arms, she pulled her chair closer to her desk and went back to what she was doing, "And I wouldn't know what I know now, would I?"

From the corner of her eye, Lois saw Clark take another half step forwards. She could practically feel the moral outrage rolling off him. But she didn't see what the problem was. He knew her. And he knew the lengths she would go to when she was chasing a story. How was breaking and entering any different from borrowing a phone? It wasn't like she'd put herself or anyone else in danger. And if they hadn't been there then Superman couldn't have taken the witness to the hospital after he was shot, could he? The way Lois saw it, she'd helped save the guys life. So if he thought she was backing down -

"Would you have stolen her phone if we hadn't had the discussion about not seeing each other outside of working hours?"

Lois glared at him, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"She was flirting with me."

"Can't say I noticed." She continued typing.

Clark made a sound somewhere between disbelief and sarcastic laughter, "Right."

"For your information – I don't do jealous - a guy either wants to be with me or he doesn't."

"Lois," The tone of his voice changed, becoming softer and lower as he looked around the empty bullpen and stepped closer, "You know why we have to be careful. It doesn't have anything to do with not wanting to be with you. You-"

"Do you want to know what I've got, or not?"

When she quirked her brows, Clark sighed heavily, "What have you got?"

"The woman came outta nowhere. No record of her anywhere until she suddenly popped up at a TV station in Omaha and started a very fast rise through the ranks to legendary anchorwoman - "

"And?"

Lois summoned him over with a sideways jerk of her head. So Clark stood behind her, one large palm flat on her desk as he leaned over her shoulder and looked at a tiled group of faces on her computer screen while she asked; "What do all these men have in common?"

"They're famous..."

Lois nodded, "... powerful..."

"...dead..."

"... and were all interviewed by Diana Stride." She turned her chair, lifted her chin, and aimed a smug expression at his downwards gaze.

"Lois," He lifted a hand and stretched it forwards, "What am I doing right now?"

"Reaching?"

He dropped his arm, "And I'm not the only one."

One of the elevators slid open and Mayson walked in, "Can I talk to you guys for a minute?"

Five minutes later they were sat around the conference table in the other room; Lois and Clark on one side, Mayson on the other. And Mayson was staring at them. Hard.

Lois broke the silence, "Look, I already told the police everything..."

"Well, now you're going to tell me. How did you find him?"

That's the way they were playing it was it? Well two could play at that game. So Lois angled her chin and stared her straight in the eye, "I don't think I like your tone."

Mayson wasn't the least bit fazed, "And I don't like my star witness on life support."

"You can't force a reporter to reveal sources."

"True." Mayson nodded as she leaned forwards and laid her forearms on the table, "But let me tell you what I can do. I can convene a Grand Jury, put you on the stand and if you refuse to answer, toss you in jail till you do."

Lois watched as she looked pointedly at Clark, "_Both of you_."

So much for flirting with him. Good old Kansas boy charm wasn't getting him out of this one, was it? But Clark tried to reason with her anyway, "Mayson, we're on the same side here. We all want to bring down Intergang..."

"Then tell me how you found my witness, and anything you know about the assassin."

Clark leaned back and folded his arms. Lois knew that expression. And she knew he wouldn't betray her, regardless of how bothered he was by her methods. She loved him for that. Even if it was the first thing to make her feel a small twinge of guilt...

When Lois assumed the same cross-armed pose, Mayson shook her head and pushed her chair back, "I'll give you twenty-four hours. If I don't get an answer by then, I'll hit you both so hard you'll think it was raining hammers."

When she closed the door behind her and walked across the bullpen, Lois took a deep breath, "_Someone's_ watched a little too much Perry Mason."

"Maybe we haven't watched enough."

"Meaning?" She turned to look at him as he pushed his glasses into place.

"Meaning, maybe we stepped over the line."

"_We_ didn't, _I _did. That's what you mean, right?" Her eye's widened in disbelief. It was one itty bitty phone for crying out loud! It wasn't like she'd mugged Mayson in a dark alleyway to get it.

Clark pushed his chair back at the same time as Lois, "Lois, whatever one of us does, the other takes responsibility for. That's what being partners is all about."

If he was trying to make her feel guilty again... well, actually, it was working... but that wasn't the point, "Guilt by association, that's what you're worried about? If I end up in the slammer, then you go with me and that means Superman spends time behind bars. And how would it look if _that_ got out? If you didn't have superpowers and I told you to jump off a tall building, would you do it? When you're a splat on the pavement that'd be my fault too?"

"You just can't admit you were wrong this time, can you?" He frowned down at her, "Even though you know you were."

Lois blinked incredulously at him, "It's not like I killed someone, Clark. I borrowed a damn phone! We can't all float miles above the earth where it's nice and clean. Some of us have to get our hands dirty."

She regretted the words the second they left her mouth. And the way he looked at her made it worse. He didn't look angry, or frustrated; it wasn't even that he looked hurt. It was the complete lack of anything that did it. Like he'd just shut himself off from her. And she hated that.

"Clark-"

"No," He shook his head, pushing the edges of his jacket back so he could shove his hands into his pockets, "You're right. It's just a phone. Superman wouldn't have been there to take the witness to the hospital if you hadn't got the information. The means justified the ends. This time."

"Then why are we arguing?"

He shrugged, "I guess I expected more of you."

She rocked back a little and stared at him. _Ouch_! Well that little zinger had hit the mark.

"So what's the plan?" He used the same emotionless tone, "There's always a plan, right?"

Lois didn't answer straight away. Instead she stood completely still and looked anywhere but directly at him. It was the first serious disagreement they'd had since they started dating. Well the first one where they'd both said things to hurt each other anyway. And somehow that made it worse. Not that she'd expected roses and rainbows and a fairytale Happily Ever After, and it wasn't as if they hadn't argued for the vast majority of their relationship; right from the get-go. But she hadn't been in love with him then. In the early days she hadn't given a damn what he thought. So any of his pathetic attempts at zingers had gone straight over her head. Yep, she was definitely thicker skinned when she wasn't in love.

"Well?"

She gritted her teeth, "_Well_, we've got twenty-four hours, apparently. If I can ID who's trying to kill her witness, that might get her off our backs."

"If _we _can ID who's trying to kill her witness." He was looking at her with hooded eyes when she finally looked at him, "That's what you meant to say, isn't it? I thought we'd got past the days when there was no 'I' in the word 'team'."

When she looked away again, the doors of one elevator were closing on Mayson as another set opened to reveal Perry and Jimmy laughing and apparently having a great time with none other than Diana Stride.

"Well _whadyaknow_," Lois stepped around Clark, "Speak of the devil."

A large hand caught her elbow, "Wait. What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna walk right out there and add an assault charge to the grand larceny I've already committed," She extricated her elbow with a gentle twist and frowned up at him, "What do you think I'm gonna do?"

"I've spent years trying to figure out what you might do next. And it's never got me anywhere."

"_W-o-w_," She put a dose of enunciation on top of more than a spoonful of emphasis as she said the word, "Now I remember why it took so long to fall for you."

Clark looked like he was gritting his teeth, "I don't want to argue with you, Lois."

"That's going well for you, isn't it?" With a jerk of her brows for good measure, she smoothed her palms down the sides of her fitted skirt and stepped over to the door, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to do."

Diana, Perry and Jimmy were crossing the bullpen to Perry's office; Diana's laughter dancing merrily around the room, "Perry, you've got to tell that story on film..."

"Oh, I don't know, Diana, I'm kinda shy..."

"Compared to what?" Jimmy swallowed when Perry glared at him, "Sir."

Diana ruffled his hair, "And _you_. You're just the cutest thing. I love that bow-tie."

"An old girlfriend gave it to me..."

While Lois headed for her desk, Clark stepped out of the conference room, and Diana spotted him, "Well now, who do we have here?"

"Diana, this is Clark Kent, the fella I was telling you about." Perry stepped in and made the introductions, "He's had his fair share of run in's with Superman too..."

There was a long moment where Diana looked at Clark while Clark stood his ground and let her. Then she held out her hand, "It's hard to believe we haven't met. I've read everything you've ever written."

Lois wandered back across the room and smiled, "I didn't think TV people had time for newspapers."

"And Miss Lane is here too. This is a pleasant surprise. I'd just dropped by on the off chance I'd catch Perry alone," She winked at him before smiling at Lois, "I understand there's no-one in the world closer to Superman than you. I hope we can spend some time together."

"That's a pretty necklace, Lois. Is it new?" Clark asked.

Lois held it up for all to see, "Oh it's not mine, I found it..."

Clark feigned surprise, "I wonder whose it is?"

It waved back and forth like a pendulum in front of Diana's impassive face, as Lois angled her head and pouted, "It's not yours by any chance, is it?"

Diana's eyes narrowed an almost imperceptible amount, "No."

"You sure?" Lois blinked innocently, "I saw you wearing one just like it the other day..."

It was enough to get her gaze to flicker to the crescent for a moment, then back up as Lois added; "... and I thought it was so appropriate. You know, Diana the Huntress, from Greek mythology, who stalked her prey by the moonlight. You sure it's not yours?"

"Mine is in a jewellery store," Diana smiled coolly, "being cleaned."

"Oh," Lois nodded, "My mistake then. Well, I hope whoever lost this little charm finds it...or they might be in for some bad luck..."

Flipping the crescent into her palm and closing her fingers over it, Lois turned her attention to Jimmy, "Have you got the pictures?"

"Yep," Jimmy handed her a folder, "The footprints came out pretty good."

When Clark stepped closer to her side, Lois opened the folder to let him see, "Hmmm... whoever it is has pretty small feet..."

Lifting her chin she smiled at Diana again, "I'm afraid we gotta get back to work. You know how it is when you're close to breaking a story."

Turning around she heard Clark say it was nice to meet Diana, before he followed Lois to their desks and Perry guided his guest into his office. Lifting her purse, Lois tucked away the necklace before grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair, pushing her arms into the sleeves as she lowered her voice, "I'm gonna check in with the Forensics guys and then I'm gonna catch some shut eye."

"I'll go back to the hospital."

"I guess I'll catch up with you tomorrow then." She lifted the file of photos and stowed them in her laptop bag before heading for the elevators.

Clark fell into step beside her, "If you're right about her, you know you've just made yourself a target."

"I can take care of myself."

"If she's a trained assassin-"

Lois pressed the button then looked up at the lights above the doors, "She'll have a contract for the hit on Mayson's witness. So she'll want to finish the job before she turns her attention to me. Right now I've got squat and she knows it. And anyway...I deserve everything I get... _I borrowed a phone_."

When she lifted her hands and waggled her fingers with a look of mock horror on her face, Clark frowned, "Can we drop this now?"

"I didn't start it." Lois folded her arms.

"Lois, you started it the second you thought about stealing her phone."

"_Borrowing_."

The silence was deafening.

"I'm not apologizing this time." She added.

The doors slid open and they both stepped inside, Lois heading straight for the back wall and turning around to lean on it. She then waited for Clark to press the button for the ground floor and the doors to close before she said what was on her mind, "It's not like you don't know me. You know me better than anyone. What made you think I was suddenly going to change? I've always done stuff like this to get a story."

Clark leaned his back against a side wall, his slumped shoulders, wrinkled jacket and loosened tie suddenly making him look weary, "I know."

"And yet it suddenly bothers you."

"No. It bothered me before."

"So what's different this time?" Lois tried to understand, "Cos lemme tell ya Smallville, we're not in one of those relationships where people try to change each other. Have I asked you to hang up the cape?"

"It's hardly the same thing." He shot her an impatient glance.

"Yes it is," She frowned, "You do what you do, I do what I do. Sometimes we do things we know the other person won't like."

"Meaning you knew what you were doing and you knew I wouldn't approve. I got that from the fact you didn't tell me what you'd done till we got back to the Planet and you kept Jimmy around to use as a shield."

"'Cos Jimmy could protect me against the Easter bunny," Lois rolled her eyes, "Fine. I admit it. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. But while I was under the table I had a long think about the morality of that spur-of-the-moment decision. I weighed up the pros and cons from all sides of the argument. I had a pen with me, so obviously I made a column for and against and scribbled a list. I even had time to paint my toenails. It's nice to know you missed me while I was gone."

It was enough of a tirade to get a response, Clark turning towards her, "It didn't occur to you that it would look like Mayson had fed us the information? You didn't think she might get in trouble? Her career didn't matter to you so long as you got a headline? Even if none of that mattered, you didn't think that maybe we'd lose a valuable contact for the future? She was doing us a favour by being there in the first place!"

"She was doing _you _a favour! And if it wasn't the small town pretty girl who'd been flirting with you for God knows how long, would her career have even crossed your mind? She was there for _you_," Lois stepped forwards and poked him in the chest with her forefinger to make her point, "Not to talk to _us_. There's no way in hell the woman who just threatened us in that boardroom had any intention of telling us anything. How naive are you?"

"And that makes what you did all right, does it?"

"Who am I arguing with now? Clark or Superman?"

"We're the same person!"

"Oh, _now _it's the same person? Well that's convenient." She shook her head in disbelief, "Okay then. Here's a newsflash superhero. You set impossibly high standards for people to live up to, you're gonna spend your whole life being disappointed. Leading by example is one thing. Looking down on people because they don't see the world from the same moral high ground as you is another. First do no harm – that's a good one to live by. Doctors all over the world swear an oath on it. Works just fine for me. And in this case what I did had the added bonus of helping you save a life. So I'm not gonna apologize for that. And if any of the things I do to out the bad guys on the front cover of a newspaper have the same knock on effect, I'm gonna keep right on doing them. So get used to it."

To her frustration she found tears stinging in the backs of her eyes by the time she'd finished. Damn it! She did _not _want to feel guilty! It was okay for him to make life and death decisions every day but it wasn't okay for her to do something that helped save a life? How did that work? She would never be able to be the kind of person he was. She'd known that long before she knew what he could do. He wasn't perfect, but he'd always been one of the best people she'd ever known. Clark looked for the good in people, took the blame for things that weren't his fault, was honorable and kind hearted and sweet and-

Swallowing hard, she bit down on her lower lip and watched the final floors light up above the doors. Lois had tried looking for the best in people but had been let down enough times in her life to have learned to expect the worst. She never took the blame for things, even when they were her fault, though she liked to think she was getting better about that - for the most part. She liked to think she was honourable. She could be kind hearted to the right people, once she got to know them, but she'd never been and never would be, _sweet_. And the first person who said she was would get their ass -

"_Lois_-"

"Don't." She smiled weakly at him, "We gotta let this one blow over."

"I don't want to argue with you. I-"

"You made your point. I made mine. We're done arguing. There's nothing more to say." When the doors slid open she stepped into the foyer, continuing when she knew he was with her, "On this occasion we'll have to agree to disagree."

She nodded firmly and looked sideways at his profile before pushing through the revolving doors, "We both know each other well enough by now to know this isn't the first time this has happened. And it won't be the last."

"I just..." He got into the next compartment of the revolving door behind her, "... think we should talk..." And stepped outside, "...about this."

After walking to the middle of the side-walk, Lois took a breath and turned to face him, even the sight of the small distance between them causing her heart to ache. She shook her head, "There's nothing more to talk about. It's fine. _We're_ fine."

"No. We're not. Lois, I can see it in your eyes." He stepped closer, "You don't have to apologize to me. But -"

"You think I should apologize to Mayson."

The hesitation was all the answer she needed. So she shook her head again, and looked down the quiet street, "Yeah. That's not gonna happen either. Not after the way she spoke to us."

"Lois, she was doing her job."

"And I was doing mine." She waved her hand in a upward motion and lifted her brows with meaning, "Now you can go do yours. We're outside of working hours, and there's a rule for that, remember?"

"_You_," He stepped closer when she smirked, "can be the most exasperating woman on this planet when you set your mind to it."

"I know. But you knew that when you fell in love with me." Lois lifted her chin defensively.

Clark stopped. Leaned his head back. Took a deep breath that expanded his chest and strained the buttons on his shirt. And then he dropped his chin and looked deep into her eyes, "Yes, I did. But I fell in love with you despite that fact, not because of it."

"Don't you dare do that."

"Do what?"

"Try and make up with me."

"Lois-" He angled his head in warning.

"Lois me all you want. We're done arguing about this, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to kiss and make up. And even if I was, we can't. Because we're hiding from Nikita."

A long forefinger lifted and waggled in front of Clark's body for a moment. So Lois glared at it until it stopped. Then she nodded, "I'll see you in the morning. Remember not to call me or text to say goodnight. And if I call you, don't forget to ignore me..."

When she got to the end of the street, she couldn't resist the temptation to look back. He was still standing in the middle of the side-walk; watching her leave. The guilt she already felt grew and sat in the pit of her stomach like a lead weight, the need to run back to him and make up the old fashioned way stronger than her need for air. Hadn't he been listening to what she said to Mayson in the conference room? She protected her sources. Always had. She'd have gone to jail before she revealed she got the information from Mayson's phone. Even to Mayson.

They stood there for what felt for the longest time, the distance small in reality when compared to how it felt to Lois. It was stupid argument. Why were they arguing over a _phone_? She wasn't gonna apologize for taking it, even if she did see his side of things. But she wasn't going to do it again in a hurry either, was she? _Dammit_! She forced herself to turn and walk away. Why did he have to be so...

She'd fallen in love with a six foot four Jiminy Cricket!

_Skies above Metropolis – Two Hours Later._

Clark hated that they'd parted on an argument. Not that they hadn't argued before – dozens of times – or that he couldn't see her side of things. Because he could. But it still didn't make it right. Some of the things they'd said to each other hadn't helped either. And she was right, he knew the lengths she'd go to for a story. He also knew why the stories were so important to her; he'd known before she told him – she'd just never said it the way she had before.

'_First do no harm...what I did had the added bonus of helping you to save a life... if any of the things I do to out the bad guys on the front cover of a newspaper have the same knock on effect, I'm gonna keep right on doing them..._'

It was a different approach to the one he had as Superman, but their goals weren't that different. As he flew over the hospital for another check, Clark realized just how important that was to him. It was something he hadn't had with Lana. At least not the '_first do no harm_' part. Not that he didn't understand Lana's reasoning; he had. He just hadn't agreed with it. Particularly when it was done in the name of protecting him, or because she thought it was something that needed to be done because he couldn't - or wouldn't - do it. Her heart had been in the right place, he didn't doubt that she'd loved him, but love hadn't been enough when there weren't the other things that held them together in tough times. What Clark felt needed to be done, he would have done himself – even if it had taken him a while to make a decision. What Clark wouldn't or couldn't do, he would never have asked someone else to do – particularly not on his behalf or in his name. Lana had changed because of her relationship with him. She'd once accused him of putting her on a pedestal and having an image of her that she couldn't live up to. With the benefit of hindsight, Clark knew she'd been right about that. And no matter how much they'd thought they loved each other, they'd never had a healthy relationship. For either of them. Whereas with Lois...

The fact he was more secure in who and what he was helped to begin with. But it was more than that. She didn't try to protect him from difficult decisions by making them for him. If he'd told her what he could do before he became Superman and said that he didn't want to be a hero, she'd have talked it through with him, debated it with him, listened to what he had to say and said something was lame when she thought it was. But she would never have pushed him. Encouraged him, yes. Stood by him, absolutely she would. But she would never have told him the world needed him until he felt backed into a corner with no choice in his own destiny. Not Lois. And there'd been times when he'd felt that way with Lana. It had frustrated him. Because he couldn't understand why she didn't see she was enough for him. She'd been all he wanted for a long time. A quiet, normal life on the farm in Smallville, with Lana by his side. That was all he'd wanted. But then things would happen and he was the only one who could stop them, so he did what he had to do; sometimes under duress. It had often felt like the more he did, the more people expected; including Lana. Especially once she'd known his secret. She felt the need to constantly remind him of how much he could do - would tell him she was holding him back – made him feel like he had to make a choice between helping people and being with her; as if he couldn't have both. But she hadn't been holding him back the way she'd thought she had. He'd been doing that himself. It had taken her to leave before he'd finally admitted it.

When he'd had his confrontation with Lex at the Fortress, after Lex had figured out who he was, the world had literally come tumbling down around his ears. It was only sheer determination and luck that had allowed him to get them both to a fishing boat. Lex had eventually woken up from a coma with no memory of what had happened for months of his life, while Clark worked with Chloe and Oliver to pull off the cover-up of the century. Then Clark had regained his powers with the help of John Jones and gone on a quest to recover the crystal that rebuilt the fortress. Only with the fortress standing again had he made the decision on his own. He'd started the training his Kryptonian father had wanted him to do for so long. Then he took a trip around the world to get to know the planet he called home, and somewhat ironically - having avoided leaving Smallville for so long and questioned his destiny so many times - he'd discovered what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it by leaving everything he'd thought he wanted behind. Maybe it had always been his destiny to be a 'hero'. Lana had said so enough times. As had Chloe and Oliver and even his cousin, Kara. He'd often wondered what Lois would have said. He knew what she'd tell him now. How she could tap into his deepest fears and soothe them...

_'You're able to do so many wonderful things, but you can't be everywhere all at once. Nor can you right all the Earth's wrongs...You dwell on the 'what might have been's' and you'll tie yourself up in knots. You're just one man and you already do an amazing amount of good. You need to remember that…'_

_'You're not alone. You have people who care about you. Not just the millions who look up to Superman – people who know you as you.'_

_'...a life... a love... they help you remember what it is you're fighting for...'_

_'There'll be plenty of times when you're needed day and night. But sometimes there has to be times when the world can manage without you. When you have to sit back and let nature take it's course. On those rare occasions – you're mine.' _

_'You do what you do and I do what I do.'_

She hadn't made him choose between what he could do and being with her. She supported him in what he did and was there for him. Clark felt his heart warming his chest as Superman automatically turned in the sky – heading towards Lois so he could check in on her from above. After all, she hadn't put _that _on the list of things she'd told him not to do. She was right; it wasn't the first time they hadn't seen eye-to-eye and it wouldn't be the last. But he hated that they'd argued and hadn't been able to talk it through to clear the air and remove the weight that returned to his chest at the thought of the pain he'd seen in her eyes. Even when she'd been making valid points in the elevator, her eyes had sparkled with hurt. He'd done that to her. Because he'd made her think she was what? Disappointing to him? Less somehow, because she'd made the decision she had without thinking it through? Even if she had thought it through she might have done the same thing and would do it again if it came down to it. And she was right, considering it had helped him save a life. there was no right or wrong the way he'd initially thought there was. If he knew Lois she'd have gone to jail before revealing her source and putting Mayson into a compromising position. Clark knew that now that he'd taken the time to think things through. He was as guilty as he'd accused her of being in that sense. He just wished she'd let him tell her that. And given him the time to apologize.

Halfway across the city, he stopped and floated upwards, focussing his hearing on something he'd heard in the distance. He filtered through the sounds. There. Someone had a radio on.

"_...continuing to emit deadly radioactive gas..."_ He looked in the direction of Lois' apartment as it continued, _"Authorities in Philadelphia don't know how many workers are still trapped in there or how long their oxygen tanks will last..."_

Superman clenched his jaw in determination and headed for Philadelphia while Clark Kent left his heart behind in Metropolis.

_Lois Lane's Apartment – Same Time._

Tossing her keys on the table in the hall, Lois side stepped the patterned mat to lean a palm against the wall as she toed off her heels before padding silently into the kitchen. Then she changed her mind. If she made coffee she didn't stand a bat's chance in hell of getting to sleep. Maybe if she called him -

She set her purse and laptop on a kitchen counter with a frown. Nope. Not allowed to call him. Nikita's ass was going _down _for the problems she was causing. Lois knew it was her. She felt it in her gut. And she'd learned to trust that instinct over the years. All she needed was proof. The solid, irrefutable, without-a-question-of-a-doubt kind she'd based her reputation on over the years. Superman did what he did with superpowers, cops did what they did with the law on their side, Lois Lane did it with the gloriously addictive scent of newspaper ink. Once she did all would be right with the world again. Or it would be if it wasn't for the small matter of Mayson Drake's damn cellphone.

A hot shower might make her feel better. Making her way down the hall, she stepped over the corner of another mat and into the bathroom.

_Unknown Location – Middle America_

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata was playing as she warily entered the room. A flickering fire, a large stained glass window, a glass desk, a grand piano. Apart from a few additions she could have been standing in Lex's study at the Luthor Mansion. It was surreal. And creepy as hell. She glanced at the candlelit table set for two where Lex was pouring a deep red wine into beautiful glasses.

"There you are."

Chloe stayed in the doorway, "I'm not sitting down to have a cosy little late supper with you. I'm a prisoner, not a guest."

Lex set a half-full glass down and walked around the table to pour another, "You don't have to eat anything. I'm not going to force feed you. Now that you've settled in, I feel it's time we had a talk. Please. Sit..."

She didn't move.

"We have a lot to discuss."

"What I have to say to you wouldn't take long."

"I would have thought your natural curiosity would have encouraged you to get a better perspective on things..." He set the bottle in the centre of the table and sat down facing her, gently rotating the liquid in his glass as he looked at her with hooded eyes, "... and your part in them..."

"I won't have any part in whatever it is you're planning, beyond doing what you're forcing me to do for my cousin's sake."

"And yet I still sense some reluctance on your part to continue advancing your skills." He studied the colour of the wine against the candlelight, "Maybe if you understand what's at stake you'll be more co-operative."

Chloe felt her resolve wavering. But that was what he did. Lex had always had a way of drawing people in. His innate ability to zero in on the things people needed or wanted and use them to ingratiate himself or build the kind of trust he could exploit, were weapons he wielded with great skill. They were testimony to his intelligence. But sometimes, just sometimes, his need to demonstrate that superior intelligence could be used against him. And if she had a better idea of what was going on and where they were...

She stepped into the Lion's den; looking around and taking mental notes of the things that were different from the original room in the Luthor mansion. Artificial light through the stained glass was the first and most noticeable thing. They were underground? That would make sense she supposed. Maybe not the entire complex. There could be something totally ambiguous above ground. That didn't help her any. And without the sun to give her a direction she was no further along. She didn't have any idea how vast or compact the facility was. Knowing Lex, there would have been no expense spared. At the time of his trial Lex had been worth somewhere in the region of fifty billion dollars. How much had he invested in research over the years? In building complexes like this one? He'd been a rich man, but now that he didn't have control of Luthorcorp, how was he funding everything? Had he been misappropriating funds for longer than anyone realized? Wouldn't that have shown up somewhere?

Feigning nonchalance, Chloe glanced over her shoulder to where Lex was watching her every move, "Must be tough running fund raisers these days. Isn't the economy making life difficult for you?"

What could have passed for amusement flickered across his soul-less eyes, "I think we know each other well enough not to play games, don't you? If you have a question, ask and I'll answer."

"And decide whether or not to answer with anything resembling the truth, right?"

He inclined his glass towards her as the music changed to Fur Elise. So she shook her head as she continued walking around the room. After a few moments she decided to test him, "Okay then. How can you afford to run this show? Unless I'm mistaken all of your bank accounts and assets were frozen prior to the trial."

"The ones the authorities were aware of; yes. But I have associates. A great many more than you might think."

She turned at the fireplace and lifted a brow, "Those who share your twisted vision of the world?"

"People who understand what's at stake, and have been working behind the scenes for a great many years," His expression remained impassive, "This generation isn't the first to contemplate the problems we now face in reality. I don't believe you're that naïve."

"You're talking about conspiracy theorists."

Lex took a sip from his glass, setting it down on the crisp white linen of the tablecloth as he answered, "Theorists. Realists. There can be a fine line between the two. When it comes to the existence of life on other planets, those who may once have seemed to dwell in the realms of fantasy or lunacy have in fact been proven to be the prophets of our time. Many of them foretold of the coming invasion. Few would listen. And yet here we are... with aliens living among us..."

"I think it takes more than one Superman to constitute an invasion."

"Who said he was the only one?" The thin line of his mouth curled into a chilling smile, "Some of them have been here a great deal longer."

"Really." Her tone reeked of sarcasm.

"Really. In fact some of them have been here since 1947. Waiting. Preparing. Infiltrating society."

The gently crackling flames of the fire warmed her back while Chloe stared at him. She shouldn't have been surprised. Anything Lex said or did had long since ceased to amaze her. The depths he could sink to – well – she would never get used to that, and she never wanted to. But this? Surely he hadn't bought into -

"You spent a number of your High School years investigating the weird and unexplained." Lex lifted a fine porcelain plate and took it to where several silver domes covered a selection of food, "I'm quite certain you've discovered several urban myths are based on fact. Many people would doubt your abilities exist, would they not?"

"If you're talking about 1947, you mean Roswell, don't you? You're telling me there really _were_ little grey men in a spaceship."

"No. There wasn't a spaceship. It was a weather balloon, just as the Air Force said." He lifted another dome, "But they didn't mention what brought it down. Or the people in the area who disappeared."

Chloe frowned as he looked at her from the corner of his eye and continued, "Or that the body of one of those people was found in the mid-sixties. Having aged by five times the number of years the man had been missing. That's when Bureau 39 got involved. And why they were most interested in the work I, and my father before me, had been doing into metahumans after the first meteor shower in Smallville."

"Bureau 39?" Chloe calmly asked. The Justice League had been investigating them for months, so she had a fair idea of the kind of work they did and that Lex was connected to them. But he didn't know that, and she wasn't about to volunteer the information. After all, he didn't know she was Watchtower. And she wasn't about to tell him _that _either.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Hamlet. She knew the quote and she knew what he was saying. He was alluding to the meaning of the quote rather than the context. That often, when things seemed wrong, confusing or unjust, there was more to the system than met the eye; levels of truth, meaning and complexity not visible to the casual observer. Not for the first time in his life, Lex was trying to convince someone that he was on the right side. That he was one of the good guys. But Chloe knew better. She wasn't a casual observer.

Turning around, he took the plate of food to the table; setting it down before drawing back a chair and inclining his head, "As I said. We have a great deal to discuss."

A sudden chill crept up her spine, despite the fact she was still standing in front of the fire, "Why are you telling me all this?"

Lex smiled, "Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. You're special, Chloe. You have a very important role to play. One you've been unwittingly preparing for, for a very long time."

She stared at him.

"Please. Sit." His smile faded, "I insist."

"What kind of role?"

Lex looked her straight in the eye, "You're going to help me save the world."

_Lois Lane's Apartment – Same Time._

Lois stood under the shower for a lot longer than she normally did late at night and after an eventful day. Not that she didn't have a weak spot for long showers. But instead of luxuriating in the sensation of hot water soothing her body, she felt like someone trying to cleanse a sin. Sighing, she closed her eyes as she rinsed her hair. She couldn't believe she was letting the argument get to her the way it was. What in hell had he done to her?

Turning off the water, she stepped out onto the mat and grabbed a towel; rubbing her skin until it tingled before pulling on one of Clark's shirts and vigorously scrubbing her wet hair until it was almost dry. Then she rubbed a circle in the steamed up mirror, combed the tangles out of her hair, brushed her teeth, and smoothed moisturiser onto her skin while actively forcing herself not to think about it. If she did, there was a very good chance she'd end up apologizing. And she didn't want to apologize, damn it!

She had the covers on her bed drawn back when she remembered she hadn't put the chain on the door or slotted the bolts into place. So she padded back down the hall again on fluffy socks, secured the door, lifted her shoes and turned round.

There was a distinct click beneath her feet.

A voice sounded as she froze, "Good evening Miss Lane. I wouldn't step off the mat if I were you. It's this simple: You move... you die..."

Lois looked down at her feet without moving her head. She was standing on a pressure plate? Like a mine? Her gaze shifted to the hall table. Well there was no way in hell that weighed as much as she did. And she had no way of knowing how large the charge beneath her feet was, if it was even under her feet. She looked from side to side. If it wasn't under her feet, where was it? Under the table maybe? If it was small or some kind of liquid explosive it could be under her feet she supposed. And if anyone opened the door behind her, they would knock her over, so...

"Superman!" She waited. It was true. Disasters really did feel like they happened in slow motion. When there was a distinct lack of a whooshing noise, she yelled louder, "_Superman help_!"

Still nothing.

Lois blinked as she remembered what she'd said to him: _'Remember not to call me or text to say goodnight. And if I call you, don't forget to ignore me...'_

It had to be close to midnight. She wasn't due into the office until eight at the earliest. Her cellphone – and Mayson's – were in her purse on the kitchen counter. If she moved, she died. Lois wondered what the chances were that she could stay completely still and awake for a minimum of eight hours.

"_Superman HELP_! I'm standing on a bomb!"

Still nothing. Where was he? Lois could remember a time when she'd only had to be in the general vicinity of danger and there he'd be. But maybe now they were dating she was further down his list of priorities. For a second she contemplated calling Clark's name out loud. That might get his attention. But if Nikita was watching the apartment and Superman arrived after she'd called for Clark...

Why did her life have to be so complicated?! What was she thinking? She rolled her eyes. Her life had always been complicated. Well, minus the bomb part anyway. She just needed a minute to figure it out was all. Then she heard the low bleeping. Oh that better not be a timer!

"_**SUPERMAN!**_"


End file.
